The Mercenary
by Lord-of-Change
Summary: Fed up with her prison-like life on Azerath, Raven leaves and comes to Earth. But the temptations of breaking the laws for the fun of it proves too much for her, and she soon finds herself drawn into the life of a mercenary. And as her new life lead her from one hotspot to the next, she finds herself more than once facing off against a team of superheroes called the Teen Titans.
1. Chapter 1: A new beginning

_Before you begin reading this, let me first point out that this story is not connected to my other two in any way. This is a stand-alone story, centered around the plot from the cartoon series. With a little twist of course._

* * *

**Chapter 1: A new beginning**

Free, she was free. After fifteen years, she was finally free from that wretched hellhole. Just thinking about the place she had been forced to call home for all those years made her want to gag. They said it was a place of peace, of tranquility. Inbred, arrogant pigs. The lot of them. Sure, it was a peaceful place, but what was the point? She had never been allowed to do what she had wanted, always locking away her emotions, always being told what to do and what not to do.

It had been suffocating to her, a prison worse than anything she had ever imagined. What was worse, she had been the only one with such harsh restrictions. Everyone else had a much easier life. Heck, even the damn birds had more freedom than her. And why was it so? Why did she get such an unfair life?

Daddy dearest.

He was so feared among those peace-loving hippies that just because she happened to be his daughter, they felt this overwhelming urge to lock her way from the world. 'It's for your own good' they always said. Those words always made her blood boil with rage. What did they know what was for her own good? They had no right to tell her that.

Well, that was a thing of the past now. She had escaped, in the last way they would have ever suspected. With fists and feet. It had been immensely satisfying seeing their shocked looks as what they thought was a frail teenage girl took down full-grown men with her bare hands.

It may come as a surprise, but she had always detested having to rely on her powers alone. As she saw it, anyone who relied on just one asset was a dead fool. So when those idiotic monks did not teach her how to control her powers, she would spend hours training in secret to build up her strength and agility.

She was no martial arts exert by a long shot, but she had not needed to be anyway. Those idiots did not even know how to fight. In the end, escaping had been child's play to her. And now here she was, a long way from her prison, on the same world her mother was born on; Earth.

She was currently standing in a rundown and outright disgusting alley that her portal had dropped her in. Above her, the starry night sky gazed down upon the sleeping city beneath it. Not the best place she might add, but it beat her old home by a long shot.

But as she looked upon the dirty alley, a euphoric feeling washed up from deep inside her. She saw not dirt and garbage, she saw possibilities. She was finally free, free to go wherever she wanted, whenever she wanted. No more monks telling her joy was not something she could experience. This was new world to her, a world she could experience at her leisure.

Not being able to contain herself, she laughed. For the first time in her life, she laughed. This was truly a new beginning for her.

"Well, well, well. You must be having a really good evening. Shame I have to rain on your parade here" a mocking voice suddenly said from behind her. The laughter that had earlier flown freely from her lips came to an abrupt halt as she turned around in surprise. She found someone standing deep in the shadows of the alley, hidden from sight.

At least from a human's sight.

Her sharp eyes easily penetrated the shadows, to land upon the most disgusting man she had ever had the displeasure of landing her eyes on. A pale and lanky man, dressed in torn and oversized clothes, was leering at her with his yellow teeth and sunken eyes. His whole face was gaunt and a very untrimmed beard was growing like a bush on his chin. However, what mystified her most was the strange metal object clutched in his left hand and being currently pointed right at her.

"Now, if you will just hand over all your valuables I don't have to ruff you up, girly" he said mockingly. She was unsure what the contraption in his hand was supposed to do, but by judging how in control he felt and the way he kept brandishing it, she guessed it was some form of weapon. No problem to her. She flashed him a seductive smirk in response.

"Why don't you come here and help yourself?" she purred as she held her arms up. This was so wrong on many levels, but she could not help it. Never before had she been allowed to be this daring and provocative, and she would be damned if she was going to squander this chance.

The man seemed to find the idea to his linking as he approached her with eager steps, that same perverted grin still plastered on his face. But as he reached her and was about to begin his "search", her right hand shot forward like a striking viper and grabbed hold of his left hand. Before he even knew what was happening, she gave it a hard twist that snapped the bone while delivering a fist straight into his gut.

If there was one thing that her father's genes had been good for, it had been giving her strength and reflexes far beyond that of a normal human. As the man doubled over in pain, she finished up with a really hard kick in the male anatomy's most precious and vulnerable part.

The poor man went down with a girlish squeak. But as he lay on the ground writhing in pain, she lost all interest in him, instead being captivated by the strange weapon the man had used. She held it in her hands, observing it from every angle with a critical eye. She could not figure out how it was operated, but for some reason she liked the form of it.

Well, she was not about to risk breaking her new toy while trying to learn how it worked, so that left only one other way to learn its mysteries. Thankfully it was something she had no trouble doing. She bent down next to man she had recently beaten up, smiling sweetly at him.

"Sorry for the beating, but you kind of scared me" she said, sounding about as convincing as a wolf telling a sheep she has become a vegetarian and would like to eat dinner with him "But there is something else I need from you, so if you don't mind…"

With that, she grabbed his head between her hands and stared deeply into his fearful eyes _'Never liked relying on daddy dearest's powers, but oh well. Desperate times call for desperate measures' _she thought nonchalantly as her mind invaded that of her victim. Normally she could have used more finesse and delicacy when she entered his mind, but she was kind of in a hurry and just slammed into his mind like a battering ram.

The effects were anything but pleasant, if the painful screams tearing their way out of the man's throat was any indication. She showed no concern over the mental pain she was inflicting upon him, instead kept rooting around in his mind for all the information she would need.

When she was finally done, she stood up and dusted off her clothes. She then retrieved the weapon from earlier, looking at it with newfound intrigue.

"A gun. A small-arms weapon that fire a bullet by just pulling the trigger. Bullet travels far too fast for the eye to see it, and the magazine can carry several at once. Meaning it can fire several bullets in rapid succession…" she mumbled to herself before her lips split into a sadistic grin "I think I just fell in love"

With that, she spun around and happily strolled out of the alley, though not before turning around and offering a grateful bow to the now catatonic mugger lying half-dead in the alley. As her feet led her out on the empty sidewalks, that earlier felling of euphoria returned to her. The way she saw it, her life had just become like this road; wide open to her with no obstacles in her way. It felt truly liberating.

She knew then and there that this was her new life. She would have no ties, no obligations, and no expectations. She would live her life the way she saw fit, not how others saw. Now she only needed money to live in this exotic new world. The most obvious way to acquire it would be by getting a job, but that was no fun at all. No, she would do it the easiest but at the same time most exciting way. She would steal it.

And in way, that would be the ultimate form of revenge at her former captors. They had always taught her to follow the rules, to never disobey them no matter what. What better way to spit in their faces than by going against everything they believed in. Yes, it was perfect in her eyes.

But first, she needed to find a gun store. She needed more ammo to her gun, and she was practically shaking in excitement over what other kinds of toys she could pick up. She did not know why, but she had just fallen in love with these fascinating weapons being used on Earth. Once she had satisfied her new urges, she would take time to scout out this new and interesting city; this Jump City as the locals called it.

* * *

"I'm beginning to love this place more with every second" she said to herself as she stood perched on top of a building, overlooking a bank. Finding a gun store had been easy as hell, breaking into the place had been even easier. What had been harder however was picking which weapons she would bring along. There were such a variety of them that she was practically drooling over the thought of using them all.

Finally she had chosen a good arsenal for herself, though she planned on expanding it in the future. Slung over her right shoulder was a shotgun while a P90 was slung over her left. A weapon belt had been added to her attire from which an Uzi was strapped behind her back. However, what she was most proud of were the twin pair of Mark XIX Desert Eagles, both loaded with .50 Action Express bullets.

Now she had the armaments, all she needed was the money and she was good to go. But one question kept nagging at her, what was she supposed to do later? What options existed for her in this world?

She just shrugged her shoulders. She would figure it out at a later time. Right now, she had a bank to rob.

* * *

It was supposed to be an easy assignment; get in, get the money and get out. In theory it was so easy that Jinx and her two teammates Gizmo and Mammoth were close to ignoring the orders of their Headmistress. Seriously, the trio was the best students at H.I.V.E. Academy. Was not this assignment more up the rookie squads' sleeves? But no, instead the job gets handed to the star pupils.

Nevertheless, it was an order from the Headmistress, and such an order was not ignored without severe consequences. So the trio had no choice but to pack their combat gear an head out in the field.

"This stinks. Why did we get stuck with this lame assignment?" the annoying voice of Gizmo asked out loud for the umpteenth time that evening. Mammoth grunted in agreement while Jinx just sighed.

"Right now that doesn't matter. The Headmistress gave us this assignment and unless you want to get on her bad side, I suggest we get a move on here" Jinx stated tiredly. That was enough to shut the midget up and the trio quickly made their way towards the main entrance. Maybe not the best way to break in from if you wanted to remain undetected, but they were kind of in a hurry and had no time subtlety. Though they would not have needed to bother with it either way as they were about to find out.

"Hey, someone has already picked the lock here" Gizmo exclaimed in surprise as he pushed the door open. The other two cautiously stepped inside.

"Another robber?" Mammoth asked gruffly as his small eyes scanned back and forth across the lobby.

"Maybe. Kind of sloppy though. The way that lock was picked, I'd say a novice" Gizmo said from behind him. Jinx said nothing, instead keeping her eyes peeled for any signs of the mysterious robber. The trio slowly made their way across the lobby until they reached the corridor that led to the vaults. It was pitch black down the corridor, not a speck of light to illuminate it.

But Jinx got the feeling that there was something hiding in the shadows watching them. Suddenly, those same feelings were screaming at her to dodge. Why they did that, Jinx did not know, but there was no way she was stupid enough to ignore them.

"DODGE!" She screamed at her teammates, who immediately reacted and did as told. Not a second too soon before a hail of bullets flew through the area they used to occupy. The trio hugged the walls on either side of the corridor tightly as bullets chewed at the edges.

It suddenly came to an abrupt stop, but before anyone had time to react, a dark shape darted out of the corridor and past the stunned team, heading straight for the exit. Jinx was the first to recover and sent a hex straight at the floor in front of the figure. The marble crumbled under the hex and caused the figure to stumble in surprise.

Though he still managed to the ground on his shoulder and roll along it until he was kneeling, P90 held at the ready and aimed at the trio. No warning was needed this time as they all dived behind pillars as a second barrage of bullets flew at them

The figure was trying to back out of the bank, but the unmistakable click of the magazine running dry halted her progress.

"Mammoth! Take him down" Jinx shouted to her teammate, who charged the figure like an angry bull. The figure barely jumped aside to avoid the charging brute, but had to drop his P90. Jinx took her chance and leaped at him. He must have seen her, because he slung a shotgun from his shoulder into his arm and began pumping out shotgun blasts at her.

Jinx nimbly dodged each blast with cat-like grace before throwing a hex at the shotgun, turning it to splinters.

"I just stole that one, dammit" a highly angered, and distinctively female, voice snarled out just before Jinx drove a boot straight into her gut. She was sent crashing to the ground painfully while Jinx backed off to regroup with her teammates. Now that their opponent stood still, they could get a better look at him, though it was not much eels to look at.

A blue cloak covered her whole body, and a hood kept her face shrouded in shadows. All in all, she looked like a damn phantom.

"Alright, who the hell are you?" Jinx asked.

* * *

And this evening had started so well to her, now all had taken a turn for the worst as she found herself cornered by three strangely looking individuals. _'Who are they?' _she asked herself suspiciously. They certainly did not look like normal law enforcements. Then again, she had not been here that long to get a grip on exactly how a law enforcement unit was supposed to look like.

"Alright, who the hell are you?" the only girl in the group asked. Okay, maybe they were not law enforcement after all. But who were they?

"That is none of your business" she spat back, her mind already working overtime to devise a plan out of this mess. They seemed to have guessed what she planned to do since they spread out more, limiting her chances of escape. Great.

Well, if she wanted to get out of this mess she would need to move soon. Those three were not going to stand around forever. She suddenly had an idea, a very daring one she might add. A smirk split her lips as she grabbed hold of the needed weapon underneath her cloak. Not giving herself a chance to think this plan through, she rushed at them.

Her move obviously caught them by surprise since they did not react until she was almost upon them. The pink haired girl tried to step in front of her, but she just smiled and threw her weapon at her. A grenade; and she had already pulled the pin.

The pink haired girl's eyes widened in fright before she scurried out of the way, but she just charged headlong into the explosion that soon occurred. What none of her opponents saw however was that she formed a barrier with her dark energy to shield herself from the blast. She soon passed through the smoke and there, just ahead of her, was her way to freedom.

* * *

Jinx was not certain whether the girl was desperate or suicidal. You had to be either one of them if you had the guts to pull a stunt like that. She watched in horror as the girl was engulfed by the flames. Had she really been that desperate to escape?

But the horror soon turned to shock as she saw the girl leap out from the smoke completely unharmed and made a dash towards the exit. _'What the hell, is she indestructible?' _Jinx thought to herself in shock. It looked like the girl was about to make a getaway from them, but Gizmo apparently had other thoughts in mind as he managed to fire off some of his strange gum-like substance. What exactly it was, Jinx had no idea. It looked like gum, it was as sticky as glue and was hell to get out of your hair.

The substance tangled the girl's legs up and with a surprised yelp she fell face first to the floor. Jinx could not help but smile triumphantly. He midge had his uses from time to time. The trio congregated around the downed girl, who had rolled over to her back and pulled out a pair of guns. Though one of them was worried about them, in this position they could easily disarm her. And she knew it as well.

Though as Jinx looked down on the girl, a thought suddenly struck her. The girl had some skills and she was obviously not one of those stupid superheroes that ran around the country. And now for the first time, Jinx managed to get a look at her eyes. Those eyes, filled with a fire she knew all too well. She was someone who had been pushed around all her life and was now trying to break free from the confinements of society. Someone who was looking to make their own way in life, no matter the costs.

Yup, she was definitely H.I.V.E. material. And Jinx would be damned if she was going to squander the chance to get a female team member to balance out the testosterone driven guys. Jinx slowly bent down next to the girl until they were almost eye level.

"Hey, you're new in town, right?" she asked. The girl scoffed.

"Really, what gave it away? Was it my attire?" she asked sarcastically. Once again Jinx could not help but smile. She had spunk too; Jinx liked this girl more and more.

"Let me guess, you came here to get a fresh start, to get away from whatever shit you had at home" Jinx pressed on. The girl said nothing, but the slight twitch in her arm was all the answer Jinx needed. _'Jackpot'_

"Hate to break it to you, but on your own you won't make it very far in this lifestyle" she stated. Once again the girl said nothing, but she averted her gaze from that of Jinx. She was thinking. Hard. She knew the pink haired girl was right. Her first night alone and she gets busted by this group. She was obviously unprepared for the world. Jinx meanwhile gave a predatory smirk at the girl.

"Fortunately for you, I happen to know just the right solution to your predicament" she said happily. The girl looked back at her suspiciously, wondering what the pink haired girl was after.

"And what would that be?" she asked dryly, causing Jinx's smile to grow even wider.

"That you're coming with us" she simply said. The girl's eyes widened in surprise before narrowing in suspicion.

"Explain" was all she said.

"We're students at the H.I.V.E. Academy, a place for people like us who prefer to live outside the law to train and learn to survive. And from what've seen of you so far, you'll fit right in there" Jinx explained enthusiastically. The girl still looked skeptic, but she was considering the offer. If she accepted she would get training in how to survive in this world, get a roof over her head and possibly free meal. The downside of course was that it was a bloody _school_. She did not have very fond memories from her old home.

But as they say, beggars cannot be choosers. Besides, the benefits seemed to outweigh the risks. She looked back at the pink haired girl and found that she was looking at her expectantly.

"Alright, you got me convinced" she finally relented, causing the pink haired to girl to grin even wider than before. If such a thing was even possible.

"Nice! I'm Jinx by the way!" she introduced herself before pointing at the midget "That's Gizmo" then she pointed at the last one "And that's Mammoth"

Gizmo meanwhile had managed to remove his gum-like substance from the girl's legs, allowing her to stand back up again. She reached up with a pale hand and drew back her hood, exposing her pale face and violet hair that reached her shoulder.

"Name's Raven" she introduced herself. _'This might not be such a bad idea after all' _she thought to herself.

* * *

_and there you have it, the first chapter. What I'm looking for in this story is to create a different version of Raven then what many have usually read about on this sight._

_First off, I look to give her a more mercenary style attitude to her role in the story, meaning she'll be more interested in getting paid and having fun than trying to be good or bad._

_Furthermore, I seek to give her a new set of skills she'll use. Instead of relying on her powers, she'll instead prefer to use firearms and explosives. I'm not going to remove her usual powers, she'll just prefer to first try to shoot her opponent in the head with a gun before resorting to her powers._

_Give me a comment on what you think of these goals._


	2. Chapter 2: Final Exam

**Chapter 2: Final Exam**

A screen was hissing and cracking with static before it cleared up and the logo "H" appeared on screen, along with an annoyingly calm and melodic song.

"The H.I.V.E. Academy for Extraordinary Young People is proud to introduce…" a cultural voice began while a platform was raised on screen with four people standing on it "… this year's top graduates"

As one they jumped forwards, with a short and bald kid in a green jumpsuit taking the lead.

"Gizmo, the boy genius, whose intellect can conquer any problem with an inventive solution" the same voice from before spoke again as Gizmo pressed a button on a control panel strapped to his chest. A pair of wings immediately unfolded from his backpack and he was off into the air.

Automated turrets suddenly sprang out from the walls and began firing on the small genius, who skillfully weaved around the blasts before several rockets soared out of his backpack. The rockets quickly vaporized his obstacles and he kept on flying past. Landing on a small platform, he found that four doors opened up in the walls and large white robots stepped out, looking ready to tear him to pieces.

But on some unspoken command, he flew away and a pink haired girl dressed in a witch's attire took his place.

"Jinx, the enchanting sorceress, whose powerful hexes mean bad luck to her enemies" the annoying introductory voice continued as Jinx fired off several of her pink hex bolts at several plates in the wall, causing them to break and come crashing down on the unsuspecting robots.

With a few graceful flips, she landed a good distance away, just as more automated turrets sprang up right behind her. Jinx did not even bother with those, as a hulking brute with wild hair and dressed in a black jumpsuit with golden material armoring his chest smashed into the first turret.

"Mammoth, the genetically enhanced giant, whose unstoppable strength speaks for itself" the voice continued as Mammoth tore the turret from the floor and threw it at the remaining turrets, crushing them with ease.

But a robot had somehow snuck up behind Mammoth and grabbed hold of him. It never got a chance to do more than that as a bang echoes through the training hall and its central eye was blown out from behind.

As it collapsed to the ground, Mammoth stepped aside as a blue cloaked girl stepped forward, wearing knee high combat boots and a black leotard with two ammunition belts forming an X across her upper body while a black leather belt was strapped around her hip. Two Mark XIX Desert Eagles were holstered in her belt while a hole had been made in her cloak on her back to allow a sword handle to stick out and be within easy reach. A high caliber bolt action sniper rifle was currently clutched in her hands and she just ejected the spent cartridge and loaded in a new one.

"And Raven, the weapons and explosive expert, whose marksmanship will drop you dead" the voice finally finished with the introductions while Raven took aim on another robot and shot a bullseye on that one as well.

"Well organized, highly trained and combat equipped, these new H.I.V.E. agents are the perfect fighting force" the voice continued as Jinx jumped at Mammoth, who gave her a boost with her hands. She began to gracefully cartwheel down the last stretch of the obstacle course as towers opened up on both sides of her, but in their attempts to blast her they only managed to destroy each other.

Jinx performed one last backflip and landed on her feet, right next to her teammates.

"And, for the right price, this ideal team can be yours" the voice at last concluded before the screen went dark. An elderly woman with a stern expression on her face stepped forward instead.

"Well, Mr. Slade?" she inquired politely, addressing the intimidating form of a man standing in the shadows, his left eye being the only part of him visible. That single eye held uncountable amounts of malice in it, it was like a deep pool darkness from which there was no escape.

"Impressive, truly…" Slade began, his voice smooth but spoken with such an underline of cruelty that it sent shills up your spine "… however robots and obstacle courses only prove so much"

From the sound of it, he was not overly impressed.

"My plans demand operatives who can function in the real world" he explained as he began walking away, the woman following behind him.

"If your students are going to serve me, they'll have to pass one final exam" he stated as he took a seat on his throne while to his right a spotlight illuminated the four operatives they were discussing. The elderly woman stepped into another spotlight right next to theirs as they waited for Slade's command.

"Destroy the Teen Titans, and then we'll talk" he never even looked in their direction as he spoke, but his commanding tone left no room to argue. The light immediately went out above the four students, while the light remained on above the woman just long enough for her to give a formal bow.

* * *

"So, what do you think of our new employer?" Jinx asked curiously as she lounged on Raven's bed while idly surveying her friend's room. Her preferences were clearly displayed all over the place as every surface of the walls was devoted to either gun racks or ammunition storages. Jinx shook her head as she tried counting the number of weapons Raven had, but gave up when she reached thirty.

Raven herself was currently gearing up. Jinx could not help but smile in humor at the scene. _'Most girls would take hours preparing their make-up and clothes, but Raven instead takes hours preparing her weapon arsenal' _the thought amusedly. She could not stop herself from letting out a small giggle.

Raven momentarily stopped her work of assembling one of her Desert Eagles to look in curiosity at her friend.

"What's so funny?" she asked suspiciously. Jinx held up her hands in a non-threatening gesture.

"Nothing" she hastily assured her, though that teasing smile was still on her lips. Raven just shrugged her shoulders as she went back to work.

"And about what I think of Slade, he seems like a decent enough employer. Though as long as he pays I don't care that much of what kind of guy he is" she answered nonchalantly. Jinx dropped her head while letting out a groan.

"Girl, is money all you can think of?" she asked exasperated. Raven once again turned back to Jinx, this time sporting a teasing smile of her own.

"Nah, I think way more on what gun I'm going to get next" she answered. Jinx gave Raven a flat look as she finished assembling her Desert Eagle.

"Is there even a single weapon that you _don't _have?" she asked, immediately regretting that she had ever said anything. One thing that everyone at the H.I.V.E. Academy had learned long ago was to _never_ start a conversation about guns with Raven. Seriously, the girl would never shut up once she got started!

Raven held her shin in a thoughtful gesture while looking at the roof.

"Well, I still haven't got my hands on a Dragunov sniper rifle, I have ammunition for a mini gun but has so far not found the weapon itself, my flamethrower blew up a month ago so I'll need to replace it, I don't have a Beretta just yet, I've found an AUG Assault rifle but haven't acquired it yet, I also haven't got a…" it was obvious Raven was not planning on stopping anytime soon, so Jinx took matters into her own hands and rushed forwards to place a hand over her mouth.

"I swear, you're worse than Gizmo with your obsession on weapons" Jinx stated sternly as she removed her hand from Raven's face, to expose the taunting smirk she wore underneath.

"Aw, don't be so mean now. Besides you started the conversation, knowing full well it would set me off" she said teasingly. Jinx just huffed.

"Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't have left you at that bank, _Rae" _Jinx said, drawing out the last word. Raven's earlier teasing expression quickly morphed into one of irritation.

"I told you never to call me that ever again" she snapped at Jinx. Raven cursed the day that Jinx came up with that horrid nickname for her. Now it was Jinx's turn to smile teasingly.

"But why should I? It sounds so nice, plus it's so fun to tease you with it" she answered, a Cheshire-like grin on her face. Raven groaned as she holstered her Desert Eagle before retrieving a broadsword that had been leaning against the wall and sheathed it in the scabbard on her back.

"Well, I'm ready to get going" Raven said, causing Jinx to throw her hands up in the air.

"Finally!" she cried out in relief. Raven just shook her head as she picked up a weapons trunk. As the two of them exited Raven's room, Jinx asked a question that had been bugging Raven for months.

"So, what now?" Raven turned her gaze to her friend.

"What do you mean?" she inquired, but Jinx just gave her a flat look. No humor in this conversation.

"You know well what I'm talking about. After this exam is over and our work for Slade is done, what will you do?" she pressed on. Raven averted her eyes and stared ahead of them.

"I've been thinking of starting a mercenary career. Travel around a bit, meet new interesting people, experience the world" she answered truthfully. Jinx nodded her head. It was no secret that Raven had always had a desire to travel the world, apparently a desire born from her captive life in wherever she was from.

Raven had never talked that much about her past and she always turned guarded and hostile whenever someone tried to pry the info out of her. But from the little that Jinx had managed to gather up, it had not been a pleasant place.

"You could stay you know. Stay with us. We make a great team after all" Jinx nervously offered. She liked Raven, as a friend and comrade. She was one of the few she could talk with concerning her powers. Few knew about it, but Raven also possessed strange powers, she just chose not to use them. Instead she preferred the comfortable feeling of metal in her hands. Raven smiled somewhat that that.

"Thanks, but I prefer not to get tied down too much to a place" she answered. The two continued on in silence, mentally preparing themselves for the task at hand. Today was the day they finally graduated, and they had no room to botch this mission. Failure was not an option.

* * *

Titans Tower, home of the team of teenage superheroes known as the Teen Titans. The guardians of Jump City, the defenders of the innocent, the bane of villains, the…

"Aw man, come on! It's gotta be around her someplace!" the sloppy teenagers who had not washed their dishes or cleaned their tower in over a week. Honestly, the place looked like a five star hotel for garbage rats.

"I don't believe this! How could you lose the remote!?" the cybernetic teen known as Cyborg (original, right?) demanded angrily as he was holding a couch over his head while shaking it in hopes that the remote would fall out.

In front of him, a green dog that had earlier been rooting around for the remote morphed into the green-skinned (no, not the Warhammer version, thank you very much!) Beast Boy, dressed in his black and purple jumpsuit.

"What makes you so sure I lost it?" he asked indignantly as he turned towards his much bigger friend.

"Uhh, 'cause you're you" Cyborg stated while pointing an accusing finger at him. The two of them almost got right up in each other's faces.

"Hey, just because I lost that videogame…" Beast Boy began in an attempt to defend himself, but was interrupted by Cyborg.

"And the toothpaste, and my football, and the waffle iron…" Cyborg counted them down on his fingers, sounding more and more irritated with every word he uttered.

"Things disappear, how am I supposed to know where they go?" Beast Boy demanded.

"Well how am I supposed to watch TV without a remote!?" Cyborg countered with a raised voice. It was at that point that the third member who was present had had enough of their bickering. With a loud slam, she closed her book while standing up.

"Easy as hell, you get up and change the channel manually" she grumbled out, her Australian accent clearly heard. Both boys turned their heads toward their silver skinned teammate, wearing a black corset along with a red skirt. Knee high boots adorned her feet while fingerless gloves that reached her elbows covered her arms. Her black hair sprouted in every direction while two red bangs hung in front of her face.

Both Cyborg and Beast Boy first looked at her with deadpanned expression before they turned their heads towards each other again.

"Don't even joke like that, Argent" Cyborg said grumpily. Argent meanwhile let out an irritated sigh.

"Does it look like I'm joking to you?" she asked as she strode up to him.

"How should I know, 'cause it wasn't funny either way!" he shouted back. And just like that, three of them were locked in a free for all argument. It was at that moment that the last two members arrived; Starfire, dressed in her usual purple attire, and Robin, still wearing that ridiculous traffic light costume of his.

"… and that is the secret to travelling faster than light" Starfire concluded to some explanation she had begun before entering. But both of them stopped in surprise as they finally noticed the bickering trio in front of them.

"Whoa, take it easy Titans. Combat practice is this afternoon" Robin stated, though no one seemed to pay him any attention. A though suddenly struck Starfire as she turned to address Robin again.

"We must mend your dispute by the sharing of unhealthy junk food. I shall fetch them" she explained before walking towards the kitchen area. Robin meanwhile tried to break up his teammates before fatalities occurred.

Starfire appeared to be completely oblivious to the raised voices behind her as she opened the fridge in search of "the unhealthy junk food". Well, what she found was definitely unhealthy, if the blue sludge covering all the food was any indication.

In fact, some of the sludge that was resting on a cheese rose up and growled at Starfire. She did not take it very kindly as she screeched in fright and fired a starbolt straight into the sludge, scattering it all over the place.

The rest of the Titans all looked around with varying degrees of disgust at the blue sludge that suddenly covered everything, including themselves.

"Maybe we should just go out for pizza?" Robin inquired from his friends. No objections were raised.

* * *

Not that long later, they were once again bickering with each other. Though this time the topic revolved around what type of pizza to order.

"Come on, can't we just order something now?" Argent asked impatiently.

"As long as it's vegetarian" Beast Boy piped in. that did not apparently sit well with Cyborg.

"Come on man, how can you deny me the all-meat experience?" he demanded while brandishing the menu. Beast Boy looked outright disgusted.

"Dude! I've been most of those animals!" he cried out in horror while pointing at himself.

"I suggest a large pizza with pickles, bananas and mint frosting" Starfire offered while smiling sweetly. The other Titans were looking at her with expressions no human words would ever be able to describe.

"Was she dropped on her head as a kid?" Argent deadpanned.

"Uhhh… Starfire, not everything on the menu is a pizza topping" Robin whispered to her, looking quite embarrassed.

"Oh…" was all she could say while rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

What none of them realized was that they were all currently in the scope of a sniper on top of a nearby building.

"Raven to Jinx, I've located our targets. Begin phase one" she said into her communication device in her ear. On the other end, Jinx nodded happily before launching a hex at an empty bus parked right next to her, causing it to start rolling down the road. As phase one began, Raven let out an irritated grumble.

"I still say I should have just sniped them from a distance instead of this stupid idea" she grumbled into her communicator. Jinx just laughed at her.

"But where's the fun in that, Rae?" she asked sweetly "Now stop complaining and get your ass down here now"

Raven shook her head in resignation. This whole plan was just a waste of time and energy in her eyes.

"Fine, I'm coming. But if this plan backfires, don't come crying to me" a thought suddenly struck her at the end of her sentence "And stop calling me Rae for God's sake!"

The Titans meanwhile got up from their seats in surprise as they heard a bus approaching. But Beast Boy gave a horrified gasp as he noticed a baby carriage was right in its path. And from the sounds of crying coming from it, he guessed it had passengers.

"Titans, go!" Robin shouted his usual battle cry. No further motivation was needed as the team sprang into action.

Starfire flew down and scooped up the baby carriage, getting it out of the way, while Cyborg jumped down right in the bus' path with Argent backing him up. Bracing his feet, he tackled the onrushing bus head-on, trying to slow it down. Argent assisted by forming two massive hands of crimson energy that grabbed hold of the bus. Together, they managed to stop the bus before anyone got hurt.

"Uhh… don't buses normally have drivers?" Cyborg asked in confusion as he surveyed the empty driver's seat.

"And don't baby carriages normally have babies?" Robin asked in equal amount of confusion as he picked something from within the carriage that was obviously not a baby.

"_Are you pit sniffers normally this stupid?" _Gizmo asked tauntingly from the communicator built into the green teddy bear Robin was holding before a blast of energy was unleashed from its eyes. It sent Robin, Starfire and Beast Boy soaring through the air.

Cyborg and Argent both looked on in shock, but before the thought of helping them even occurred to them, the bus they had previously stopped was lifted into the air. Both of them now stared in horror at the underside of the bus, right before it was brought down on their heads.

From behind the bus, Mammoth stepped forward while dusting his hands off, a satisfied smirk on his lips.

"That was too easy. What a bunch of cludgeheads" Gizmo mocked as he and Jinx stepped forward.

"Told you, Rae" Jinx said, even though Raven was nowhere to be seen.

"You guys wanna get pizza?" Gizmo asked while pointing to the pizza parlor nonchalantly.

"This isn't over!" Robin suddenly stated from where he had just gotten back on his feet along with Starfire. Beast Boy was still lying in the garbage can he had landed in.

While he said that, the bus was blasted aside from underneath, and Cyborg and Argent climbed out of the crater.

"We're just getting started!" Cyborg stated angrily.

"Who are these guys?" Beast Boy asked while removing a banana peel that had had somehow managed to land on his head "And what's a cludgehead?"

"We're the H.I.V.E." Gizmo stated.

"Your worst nightmare" Mammoth continued while smashing his hands together.

"And this is attack pattern alpha" Jinx finished and as one, the H.I.V.E. members spread out. Gizmo came flying right at Robin, Starfire and Beast Boy, firing a barrage of energy bolts at the walls behind them. Before they even knew what had happened, it came crashing down on them.

Jinx engaged Argent in a fight while Cyborg and Mammoth were locked in test of strength as both tried to push the other one back. Behind them, the other three Titans were just in the midst of crawling out of the wreckage they had been buried in.

"What do you call an idiot with a rocket on his back?" Mammoth suddenly asked Cyborg. He never got a chance to answer the question as Gizmo suddenly jumped onto his back.

"Duped" Gizmo answered as he attached a rocket to Cyborg's back before activating it, sending him careening into the sky.

"Cyborg!" Starfire cried out in shock and was about to go after him when a hail of bullets suddenly impacted around them. Not soon after, Raven came crashing down into Robin's back knee-first, knocking him to the ground. Raven quickly reached inside her cloak and pulled out a grenade.

"Catch!" she shouted to the Titans before throwing it into the air while rolling clear from the blast, the Titans were not as fortunate as they were thrown around like ragdolls by the blast.

"I told you we should've just done this fast and quiet. Now I have to waste more ammo than necessary on them" Raven complained as she stood back up.

"Yeah, yeah. Quit complaining here and get to work!" Jinx shouted back as she ducked underneath a kick from Argent. Raven just sighed as she retrieved her Desert Eagles from their holsters.

"And this is why I aim for a solo career" she mumbled to herself as she began firing on Robin and Beast Boy.

"Starfire, go help Cyborg! We'll handle her!" Robin shouted from behind the car he was using as cover. Starfire gave a hesitant node before bolting into the air, far too fast for Raven to get a good shot off at her in time.

Jinx meanwhile was still slugging it out with Argent. She swung a fist at Argent's face, which she ducked, but tried again with the same result. Argent tried a backhanded hit against Jinx, but it was easily blocked.

"You fight like a boy" Jinx said with a taunting smirk on her lips.

"And you're gonna croak like a frog" Gizmo said as he towered above the two girls on his mechanical spider legs before firing an energy blast from his cannon (where did he get that one from, anyway?) straight at Argent. She went flying down the road.

Robin and Beast Boy tried to rush them, but a bullet graced Robin's arm and he halted temporarily in shock. That was all the time Raven needed as she pistol-whipped him across the face, causing to stumble back in pain.

"Stay down, bird boy" Raven said in a bored tone.

Beast Boy meanwhile tried to charge on alone and morphed into an elephant. Though he found to his surprise himself being lifted into the air, still in elephant form mind you, by Mammoth while the other three stood calmly by and watched.

"Beast Boy, hang on!" Robin shouted as he sprinted towards his friend, but Mammoth simply punched Beast Boy straight at Robin. Though thankfully Beast Boy managed to morph back to his human form before he impacted against Robin, sending both of them tumbling down the road. They finally came to a stop next to Argent.

"Is it me, or are we getting our butts kicked?" Beast Boy asked cynically from where he was lying.

"It's just you" both Robin and Argent said at the same time, annoyance plain in their voices.

"Listen up team, I have a plan…" Robin began but got no further as an energy blast hit Argent and sent her flying further down the road, quickly followed by Beast Boy who suffered the same fate. That only left Robin to face the four H.I.V.E. agents on his own.

"Geeze, scrum buffer. Sure hope your fancy plan includes getting fried" Gizmo taunted as he leveled his shoulder mounted energy cannon at Robin. He just adopted a fighting stance against his four opponents.

"We'll just have to find out the hard way" he said while making the universal sign of "bring it on". Not about to disappoint him, Gizmo and Jinx blasted the ground he stood on with their attacks before Mammoth finished with an earth shattering blow from his fist.

The road exploded and collapsed under the punishment it took, and Robin was close to falling down into the gaping hole that had been made. But in the nick of time, he managed to jump clear and landed on the edge of the hole.

"That was close" he said to himself as he let out a relieved breath before turning towards his opponents again.

"That all you got?" he asked cockily while making ready to attack. But Raven suddenly stepped in front of her teammates with an indifferent look on her face.

"Bored now" she simply said before raising one of her guns and fired a single shot into Robin's chest. He was sent tumbling into the awaiting darkness without making a sound. Both Argent and Beast Boy rushed to the edge with terrified expressions on their faces, not believing what they had just seen.

"Robin?!" Beast Boy called out in panic, frantically looking for any signs of their leader. But all he saw was rushing water from the sewer system. Neither Argent or Beast Boy could believe it, it was just not possible. But it was, it had happened right in front of their eyes.

Robin was gone.

* * *

They had let them go. They had the chance to strike down another two of the Teen Titans, but had let them run back to their base.

"I still say it was a mistake letting them get away like that" Raven stated to her teammates as they casually strolled down the street after their prey. Jinx suddenly came up next to her and threw an arm around Raven's shoulders.

"Oh come on, relax will you! We've already won this fight, now we just need to mop them up and we're all done!" she exclaimed happily. Raven however was not so easily convinced.

"We've so far only taken out one of the Titans. Even though he was their leader, that still leaves four Titans who can still fight back. And now, because we let them get away, they'll have the home field advantage" Raven explained. Jinx just sighed at her friend.

"Honestly Raven, you can be such a killjoy when we're on missions" she moaned in irritation. Raven smiled teasingly at her for that.

"Well someone has to be to keep you guys alive" she said. Jinx was about to try another tactic to placate her stubborn friend when an idea struck. She smiled deviously at it, there was no way Raven would be able to say no to that.

"Tell you what Raven, if you just roll on this mission with the rest of us, I'll buy you that Dragunov thing you mentioned earlier today" she offered. She got an immediate reaction as Raven's head snapped to attention and she looked wide eyed at Jinx.

"The Dragunov semi-automatic sniper rifle that fires 7.62×54mmR ammunition as either conventional, tracer or armor piercing incendiary rounds?" she verified in case she had heard wrong, eyes like stars. Jinx really had to struggle not to laugh. It was easy to convince Raven to do what you wanted, you just needed to have the right bribe. And Raven would never say no to a new gun to play with.

"Jinx, you sly cat. You know I can't say no to that" Raven accused. She just continued to smile deviously at her.

"That's the whole point of a bribe" she said. Raven tried to resist the offer, but it was too good to pass up on.

"Alright, you win" she finally conceded. Jinx just cheered happily.

* * *

It had been a crushing defeat for the Teen Titans. There was no other word for it. The weight of defeat hung heavily from the shoulders of Argent and Beast Boy as they staggered inside the doors to the tower. But what stung the most for them was not that they had been defeated, it was that they had lost their leader. That was a wound they could not close.

"I can't believe he's gone. It can't have happened" Beast Boy said, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else.

"I wish I could say differently, but it did happen. And nothing we do will change that" Argent said as she sat down in defeat. At that moment, the huge doors opened up again and Starfire and Cyborg stepped inside.

"Maybe y'all should call me flyboy. I was halfway to Gotham City before Starfire had that thing off my back" Cyborg joked as he walked up to the two other Titans.

"So what'd I miss?" he asked. It took him a moment realize that no one was smiling at his joke, and they both seemed hesitant to answer his question.

"Tell me how we kicked their butts. Come on, I gotta have it play by play" Cyborg demanded, yet still they were quiet. Though something seemed to have occurred to Starfire since she was looking around the place in confusion.

"Where is Robin?" she asked. A few moments of uncomfortable silence followed her question.

"Umm, Star. We're not sure" Beast Boy answered. Starfire looked thoroughly confused by that.

"Not sure? How can you not be sure?" she asked.

"Starfire. We searched everywhere, from top to bottom, and all we found was this" Argent said as she held out Robin's utility belt. Both Starfire and Cyborg had very poor reactions to that. But while Cyborg began muttering to himself that he should have been there, Starfire had a more aggressive reaction.

"I do not understand, how could you not find him? People do not just vanish, he has to be someplace so go there and look!" she nearly shouted straight in Argent's face. Beast Boy quickly intervened and got in-between the two girls while holding his hands up in a placating manner.

"Easy Star. Come on, this Robin we're talking about. I'm sure he's fine. He'll probably turn up any second" he reasoned with her. Just then there was a noise at the door.

"Awesome timing" Beast Boy said happily.

"Robin!" Starfire burst out in relief as she flew towards the door. Though she seriously was not expecting the door to blow up right in her face. When the smoke cleared, four hauntingly familiar persons walked in, the one in front dropping a spent RPG to the floor.

"Told you it would come in handy" Raven stated smugly to Jinx, who chose to ignore her.

"Oh no" Beast Boy said in horror.

"Oh yes" Jinx countered tauntingly while Mammoth cracked his knuckles. The Titans quickly took up battle positions.

"You guys got lucky last time! But you're in our house now!" Cyborg shouted angrily.

"Yeah, nice place. We'll take it" Gizmo stated as the four of them advanced menacingly towards the Titans.

"Split up!" Cyborg shouted as he and the remaining Titans retreated deeper into the tower.

"After them!" Jinx shouted and they were off after the Titans.

* * *

_(This part of the story is basically where the Titans start to fight the H.I.V.E. members individually across the tower, and since we've all seen it in the cartoon episode, I'm not going to repeat those fights. Instead I'll just write about the one fight that is of my own making)_

Raven leisurely strolled down the corridor, her eyes peeled for enemies.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are" she sing-songed as she kept walking. It was eerily quiet around her, and Raven began wondering if she had missed her Titan. Surely she should have reached some form of resistance by now.

"This is Raven. I'm nearly at the top floor but still no sign of a Titan. How's it on your ends?" she called through their communication link.

"_Jinx here, I got the green one running for his life"_

"_Gizmo here, I'm about to pick the walking scrapheap apart" _

"_Mammoth here, about to pound the Goth chick into the ground"_

Raven mentally counted down the number of confirmed Titans. _'That's Beast Boy, Cyborg and Argent. That only leaves Starfire' _now all that Raven needed to do was find her. However that could prove to be a challenge, since Starfire was familiar with this territory and Raven was not.

She did not have to look far however as her instincts suddenly screamed at her to jump back. Not about to question something that had saved her life more than once, Raven did just that, narrowly avoiding getting a starbolt to the face.

Turning in the direction the starbolt came from, she found a furious looking Starfire facing her with glowing eyes and hands. Raven smiled cruelly at her.

"Well there you are. I was beginning to worry I would have to search the whole damn tower for you" she said as she crouched low but made no move yet to retrieve her Desert Eagles. Starfire did not look the least bit happy.

"I will stop your vile mission here" she stated with conviction. Raven's smile just grew wider.

"That's what Robin said as well. That is, until I put a bullet in his chest" she taunted. It got the desired effect out of Starfire as her whole body tensed up like a piano wire.

"You shot Robin?" she asked. Her voice was like a whisper, but it held uncountable amounts of anger and hatred in it. This would be easier than she had first thought.

"Yeah, I did it. What, you're gonna do something about?" she taunted even further. That was the last straw for Starfire as with a savage roar she flew towards Raven.

Undaunted by the attack Raven pulled out her guns and opened fire, spraying the corridor ahead of her with bullets. But Starfire was too was fast and was upon her in an instant. Raven was forced to leap back as Starfire smashed the floor she had previously occupied with enough force to shatter it.

"Are you trying to hit me or the floor?" Raven questioned rhetorically as she sprinted back the way she came, Starfire hot on her heel. Whenever she felt that Starfire was getting too close, she would spin around to fire a few bullets at her to slow her down before continuing. Finally they reached a corridor where the wall on one side was made completely out of glass, giving a wonderful view of Jump City bay.

Raven kept sprinting until she reached the end of that corridor, turning around to find Starfire standing at the other end with a furious expression on her face.

"Going to keep running away, coward?" Starfire snarled at her. Raven narrowed her eyes at her.

"Alright, have it your way" Raven said as she threw away her guns and grasped the handle of her sword "Bring it"

Starfire needed no further encouragement as she came at Raven like a bull seeing red. But as she drew nearer, Raven began to smile at her. What Starfire did not know was that Raven had planned this to happen. She had deliberately been walking around in the open to draw a Titan to her. Then she had intended to lure them here, to her trap.

"Come over to my party, said the spider to the fly" Raven said as she brought forth a bomb trigger from under her cloak and pressed it. Immediately after, the bombs she had planted on the wall and camouflaged so no one would see them exploded, just when Starfire was right next to them.

Starfire was sent flying out of the tower from the explosion while Raven nonchalantly let go of her sword handle and watched as her body plummeted into the bay. It was not long after that that Starfire was joined by the remaining Titans and all of them were sent washing away by a tidal wave created by Jinx.

"Well, I guess that raps it up" she mused to herself as she strolled away, heading towards the living room where the rest of her team undoubtedly were holed up.

* * *

They had been defeated. Again. And this time they had lost their home as well. Needless to say, the mood among the Titans was record low as they crawled onto the beach.

"So, who else never wants to go surfing again?" Beast Boy tried to joke, though he got the opposite reaction he was aiming for.

"Not now, man" Cyborg grumbled at him. You could somewhat understand his anger; he had lost his right arm to Gizmo.

"Hey I was just trying to…" Beast Boy began but Argent put a hand on his shoulder, a silent advice for him to say no more. Cyborg meanwhile began repairing his damaged body.

"Perhaps I would be of some assistance" Starfire said as she stepped closer to Cyborg.

"I got it" Cyborg snapped back at her without even turning to look at her. Starfire however pressed on.

"But you are so damaged and…" she got no further as Cyborg's already short fuse burned up.

"I got it!" he nearly shouted in her face.

"Hey, she only wanted to help!" Beast Boy suddenly snapped at Cyborg "What is your problem?"

"What do you think?!" Cyborg shouted back "We got kicked out of our house, a pint-sized kid took me for a joyride! And in case you haven't noticed, I just became left handed!"

"That's enough you two! Yelling at each other won't help us at all!" Argent suddenly burst out in anger.

"Look who's talking! You're shouting just as much as the rest of us!" Cyborg countered just as angrily, both of them getting in each other's faces.

"I wish that Robin was here" Starfire said sadly while holding herself.

"Well, he's not! Don't you guys get it? They won, we lost! It's over!" Cyborg ranted on in anger, not finding any other way to vent his emotions. The rest of the team just looked at their former home in depression, knowing it was no longer theirs. Hope, it seemed, had abandoned them.

"Then, the Teen Titans are finished?" Beast Boy asked with a heavy heart. No one had the heart to answer him, save for one.

"Not yet, not if I can help it" a confident voice said from behind them. Turning around in surprise, they found the last person they would ever have expected to see again.

"Robin!" Starfire cried out in joy as she flew to him and embraced him in a hug, causing to wince from her superhuman strength.

"But how can you be alive? I saw that gun slinging chick nail you in the chest" Beast Boy stated in shock. Robin smiled cockily at him as Starfire let go of him.

"Did you really think I wear this costume just for fashion? It's made of high density Kevlar, it stopped the bullet" he explained as he slammed his fist where the bullet had hit him, his face immediately scrunching up in pain from that action.

"Though it may have broken a rib or two" he said between clenched teeth. The team looked at him in concern.

"Shouldn't you be resting then first before we go after them?" Argent asked. Robin just shook his head while smiling confidently.

"I can rest more peacefully once we've kicked them out of our house" he answered.

* * *

Raven calmly walked through the halls of Titans Tower, or as it was called now; H.I.V.E. Tower. She shook her head at that. Honestly, who came up with such a lame name anyway? No matter, construction was already well underway to turn this giant T into a giant H.

Waste of time and money in her eyes. If they wanted to rebuild this place, it should be built with more function and defensibility in mind, not style.

Though it did not matter to Raven. Hopefully when Slade got word that they had dealt with the Titans, he would send her somewhere else.

But Raven could not shake the feeling that they were celebrating just a bit too early here. They had no real confirmation that the Titans were gone for good. They could possibly mount a counterattack any second now. The feeling would not go away for her, and Raven just knew that something was about to happen.

"Raven to Jinx, do you copy?" she called through their communicator. Jinx would probably lecture her again about being overly paranoid for this, but as long as her teammates were safe, she would live with it.

"_Jinx here. What do you got?"_

"Have any of you detected anything unusual yet?" Raven inquired.

"_No. why do you ask?"_

"I just got a feeling that something's about to happen. I think we need to be on our guard" she answered, immediately afterwards hearing Jinx groan in irritation on the other end.

"_Not this again! You and I are gonna have a serious talk about that paranoia of yours, and don't think you can weasel your way out of it!"_

"Whatever, just keep me posted if anything were to happen. Raven out" with that, she cancelled the link before Jinx had a chance to respond. She continued her silent patrol of the tower for about fifteen minutes before her comm-link crackled to life again.

"_Raven! Where the hell are you?! We've got Titans up on the roof!" _the frantic voice of Jinx shouted from the other end. Without a second thought, Raven was off in a sprint towards the stairs. She dashed up the stairs like a madwoman before tackling the door open to find the Titans facing off against her teammates.

The Titans' backs were turned to her, and they appeared to not have noticed her arrival just yet. Perfect.

"Sorry to interrupt your victory party" Robin said as he strapped his belt back on to his hip "But like I said…"

"It's just getting started" Cyborg finished as he reattached his arm. The H.I.V.E. members were looking a bit pensive about this, but the Titans sure as hell did not. But the first strike was actually dealt out by Raven as she tackled Robin from behind. Pushing him to the ground, she rolled over him before ending crouched low to the ground while pulling out a serrated and wicked-looking knife from her belt.

"You and I have unfinished business, homeboy" she hissed at him. Robin was quickly back on his feet, a determined look in his eyes. The rest of the Titans were about to rush in to aid their comrade, but he held up a hand to stop them.

"Don't worry about me, I'll deal with her alone. You guys take care of the rest" he ordered. They looked unsure at first, but eventually they nodded their heads and sprinted off to deal with the others, leaving Raven and Robin to face each other alone.

"So what's your name?" Robin asked as he brought out his extendable bo staff. Raven smiled cruelly at him in return.

"My apologies for not introducing myself earlier. You may call me Raven" she said before he lunged at him. He blocked the knife with his staff, but Raven stepped to his side and threw a punch at his side. He dodged it and countered with a jab from his staff, forcing Raven back.

Big mistake, as Raven now had room to retrieve one of her guns. Robin's eyes widened for a split second and he was forced to do a barrel roll to avoid the first two bullets coming his way. The third one grazed his shoulder but he ignored it and swung his staff at Raven.

She sidestepped the attack and tried to pistol whip him in the back of his head, but he rolled under it before firing a grapple gun at the support beams that so far made up the newer parts of the tower. As he was dragged up and among them, Raven gave a low grumble in her throat.

"Why do all the guys always run away from me?" she mumbled to herself as she holstered her gun and climbed after him. As she climbed higher up, her eyes continued to scan every shadow for signs of her opponent.

Suddenly he came swinging down on her from the beam right above her, knocking her back into another beam. Robin was instantly upon her, trying to knock her out. But she blocked his attack, crouched low and managed to land an uppercut blow to his stomach.

Temporarily stunning him, he pushed him back and brought out her gun. She smiled wickedly down on him, there was no room for him to dodge here. Without hesitation, she fired three shots in rapid succession into his stomach, causing him stumble back from each shot.

Robin collapsed to his knees, wheezing in pain, and Raven stepped forward and pressed the muzzle of her gun against his head.

"End of the line" she said as she was about to pull the trigger, but Robin suddenly shot up too fast for Raven to react. Before she even knew what had happened, her gun was knocked from her hand and a boot was firmly planted on her chest, sending her tumbling over the edge of the beam.

Though she managed to grab hold of another beam before she hit the ground. For a few seconds she just hung on for dear life before she hauled herself up on the beam, not too long after being joined by Robin. Raven snarled at him as she righted herself.

"How the hell can you still be alive?" she demanded of him. He just fixated her with a stone cold expression.

"Trade secret" was all he said. Raven snorted at him

"Very well. The time for talking was way passed already" she stated as her hand grasped the hilt of her sword and began to slowly draw it out from its scabbard. "The time for steel is high time to begin"

In one fluid motion, she drew out her broadsword the last bit and made a downward cut at Robin, who was forced to leap back. He tried to attack her again, but she made a high swing that forced him to dodge where he was unable to block the powerful kick that followed.

Robin was nearly knocked off the beam, but as he lay at the edge was forced to jump off it on his own accord, lest he be skewered by a powerful stab from Raven's sword. Robin used his grapple gun to try to gain some altitude over Raven, but she stabbed her sword into the support beams and used it as a leverage to jump after him.

As they faced each other again, Robin brought out his bo staff again and charged at Raven. She stepped back to avoid a swing but never gave him a chance to attack again as she swung her sword at him again. He tried blocking it, but the bo staff was not meant to block a sword and was cut in half.

As he stepped back, Robin looked dumbly at the two halves of his bo staff before dropping them as he was forced to duck under a two-handed stab from Raven. He quickly stepped forward under her guard and delivered a haymaker to the underside of her chin.

She stumbled back, and Robin was quick to capitalize on this as he kicked her straight in the stomach, knocking her off her feet. But she quickly flipped back on her feet and swung at his legs.

He barely jumped over it. But the moment her feet made contact with the beam again Raven slammed the pommel of her sword into her chest. He was pushed back against the support beam and clutched his chest painfully. Even with the Kevlar, those bullets had done a number on him.

"If you're hoping on walking away from this alive, you better have some form of ace up your sleeve" Raven stated as she made ready for another lunge. But she hesitated when she noticed that he was in fact smiling.

"As a matter of fact, I do have one" he answered smugly. At Raven's confused expression, he pointed down towards the ground. Curious as to what he was pointing at, though still careful to keep him in her line of sight, Raven peered over the edge.

And there, just below where they were stand, was Jinx. And she had a green monkey in her face. Raven's confusion however soon turned to horror as she watched Jinx blindly fire away her hexes at every support beam around her.

The support beams that Raven was currently standing on at least three stories high in the air.

"Summer's over, Raven. Have a nice fall" Robin called out to her as he used a grapple gun to swing away to safety. Raven stared dumbly after him for a few seconds until she felt the support beams begin to creak and crumble under her feet.

"Oh, you bastard…" she muttered as the support beams gave way underneath her and she plunged towards the ground.

Needless to say, the fight just went from bad to worse for the H.I.V.E. as one by one, they were neutralized by the Titans effective teamwork. Soon three of the four villains were lying in a pile together, Raven was still lying buried somewhere in the rubble.

"Crammit, I'm calling Slade" Gizmo muttered as he held his communicator. Suddenly Robin grabbed hold of him and hoisted him into the air to glare straight into his eyes.

"Who is Slade?" he inquired harshly, but Gizmo just smirked at him.

"Wouldn't you like to know, barf brain?" he taunted.

* * *

Deep underground, two individuals were watching the whole spectacle on their monitors. One of them with apparent apathy, and the other with a deadly mix of anger and embarrassment.

"I assure you, such failures are not tolerated within the H.I.V.E." the stern looking woman from earlier stated "Once the agents have been retrieved from the authorities, they will be disciplined… _strictly _disciplined_"_

"Actually, your agents served my plans quite well" Slade calmly revealed "I never expected them to succeed, they were merely messengers. And the message has been received"

As he explained, he pressed a button, and the screens from earlier were filled with video loops of Robin repeating the same thing over and over.

"_Who is Slade? Who is Slade? Who is Slade? Who is Slade? Who is Slade? Who is Slade? Who is Slade?" _

But something seemed to occur to Slade as he held his shin thoughtfully.

"And besides, it's not over just yet" he said cryptically.

* * *

"Jinx, you're so buying me more than a simple Dragunov for this" Raven muttered as she pushed the last beam off of her and got back up on her feet. She quickly retrieved her sword and sheathed it before carefully crouching to the edge of the rubble.

Peering around it, she finds her teammates all rounded up and about to be handcuffed and taken into custody. She also noticed that the green one was standing very close to her, and with his back turned to her.

She does not give herself a second to reconsider, instead leaped forward and before anyone knew what hit them, Raven had Beast Boy's left arm in an arm lock behind his back and a gun pressed against his neck.

The other Titans immediately make ready to attack but Raven tightens her hold on Beast Boy, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Don't even think about it. Any wrong moves from anyone of you and I'll put a bullet in his brain" she stated calmly as she pressed her gun harder against his neck for emphasis. Robin signaled with his hands for the rest of the team to back off before holding his hands up in a nonthreatening gesture.

"Take it easy now here. You've got nowhere to go, so why don't you just drop the gun before anyone gets hurt, alright?" he tried to reason with her. She just snorted at him.

"Don't be ridiculous Robin. I still got one way out of this, and I'm currently holding it in my hands. Now, you'll release my teammates and let them peacefully walk out of this" she demanded. Both Raven and Robin locked eyes with each other, each waiting to see who would fold first. Finally, Robin relented.

"Let them go" he said through gritted teeth the other Titans were hesitant, but upon seeing the terror-stricken face of Beast Boy they too relented and freed the H.I.V.E. agents. Raven made a gesture with her head for them to get out of here, an order they were more than happy to comply with. Though Jinx cast one regretful look at Raven before she slipped away.

For several agonizing minutes after they had left, they were all still standing in the same places, the deafening silence between them only broken by Beast Boy rapid breathing as he was hyperventilating from the fear of getting a bullet in his brain any second.

"They're long gone now. Your last chance of escape is gone. Now just give up and come quietly with us" Robin ordered her forcefully. Raven gazed at him coldly, tilting her head sideways.

Suddenly, her stoic expression split into a grin, that son turned to full blown laughter. The Titans stared at her as if she had just gone insane.

"Sorry bird boy, not gonna happen. I spent the first 15 years of my life in a prison, and I'm not about to go back to that life" she said as she did something she had hoped she could have avoided; she used her powers.

Raven let go of Beast Boy and kicked him away from herself before using her telekinesis to withdraw all five of her remaining grenades and lobbed them into the air, pulling the pins on them all at the same time.

Robin stared at her in horror, while she just winked at him just as the grenades exploded, engulfing her in flames. What none of them saw however, was that she had formed a barrier around herself that absorbed the blast, though it was still strong enough to shatter it and sent her flying over the roof edge.

As she tumbled towards the ground, she drew out her sword and plunged it into the tower, using it slow her descent. The sword tore through the wall as she continued to plunge closer and closer towards the ground.

Finally she came to a stop and withdrew her sword from the wall and sprinted towards the shoreline. And there, skillfully camouflaged among the rocks, was a PWC. Raven did not care what Jinx thought, her paranoia always made sure she had an escape route in situations such as these. Without hesitation, she mounted it and speeded away towards Jump City harbor.

This mission… was a failure. But at least they all got out in one piece. Now it was only a question of whether they would survive the Headmistress' wrath or not. Raven shuddered at the mere thought.

* * *

Once again the two individuals had watched the events that just unfolded.

"Most impressive" Slade observed. The stern woman could only nod in agreement.

"Yes, Raven is our top student. Expert in nearly all forms of weapon training, superb bomb technician, skillful with a sword, decent in hand-to-hand combat training, unmatched marksmanship within the H.I.V.E., superhuman strength and reflexes, excellent tactical mind and though she likes to live a wild life knows how to keep a cool and collected head in the heat of battle" the woman explained.

Slade said nothing in return, he just watched the screen intently. He was silent for so long that the woman though she had been dismissed.

"Headmistress" he suddenly addressed her "I would like to make an arrangement"

* * *

Raven had just entered the sewer system with her PWC when her H.I.V.E. communicator went off. This surprised Raven, she had not expected anyone to call her before she at least had reached the rendezvous site that the H.I.V.E. students had in case they ever got separated during a mission.

"Raven here" she answered, expecting it to be Jinx. But the one on the other end was someone she would have never suspected to call her now of all times.

"_You have failed your assignment, Raven" _a stern, elderly woman's voice spoke and Raven was sure that her breath just got lodged in her throat.

"Headmistress, I can explain..." Raven began but was cut off by the Headmistress.

"_Failures are not tolerated within the H.I.V.E. nor are excuses. As such, you're hereby expelled from the H.I.V.E Academy. All your funds will be seized by the academy, along with your properties"_

Raven was left speechless. They could not do this to her, could they? Throw her out on the street without even a scrap. Where the hell could she go then?

"_However…" _the Headmistress continued, gaining Raven's attention _"You will be given one chance at redemption. Kill the Teen Titans leader Robin, and you will be allowed back into the academy. Is this understood?"_

Raven could only hang her head in defeat and grumble out a "Yes, Headmistress" before driving on towards the rendezvous site.

Finally arriving, she finds her friends already waiting for her there. The moment Jinx sees Raven arrive her face split into a happy grin.

"Rae! You actually got away from them! You really are as tough as nails!" she exclaimed while raising her hand, expecting a high five.

But when she noticed that Raven was barely even responding to her and looking gloomier than she had ever seen her, she just knows something must have gone wrong.

"Hey Raven, what's wrong?" she asks as she gently touched Raven's shoulder. Raven gave a deep sigh before finally answering her.

"I've been expelled from the H.I.V.E. Academy because of our failure" she answered. The trio gasped at her in shock, not believing what they had just heard.

"But... they can't do that to you" Jinx said in shock.

"Apparently they can do it. But at least they've given me a chance to get back in. I've got to kill that freaking bird brain Robin" Raven said with venom thick in her voice. Jinx looked even more shocked now, and Raven does not feel like dallying here any longer.

"It's getting late. You should head back to H.I.V.E. Academy. I need to prepare myself for a bird hunt" Raven stated as she revved up the engine and was about to drive away when Jinx stopped her

"Raven, wait!" she called out. Raven in turn stopped the engine and turned around. Jinx gave her an encouraging smile.

"Good hunting" she said. Raven just nodded her head before she speeded away, deeper into the sewer system.


	3. Chapter 3: Forces of Nature

**Chapter 3: Forces of Nature**

It was not the most pleasant of evenings. A powerful storm blackened the skies tonight, denying even the stars a chance to shine down on the world. Thunder shook the heavens, lightning pierced the clouds, and Raven could almost swear she was seeing the outlines of a skinny guy doing a freakish dance up in the clouds while a fat guy was using the clouds as drums.

Okay, she had definitely had too much coffee as of late.

It had been three weeks since she was kicked out of H.I.V.E. Academy, though things were not a grim as they were before. Raven did no longer have access to her huge funds and vast arsenal, but she was still doing okay.

She had taken the chance to kick start her mercenary career. After all, she no longer had any ties to an organization. Though she was still planning on wasting Robin, she did after all miss all her weapons that H.I.V.E. Academy had confiscated.

But back to the topic of her mercenary career. She was planning on starting small. A few jobs here and there to lay a foundation. Sooner or later her name would start circulating in the right groups and then the juicy jobs would start rolling in.

And it was because of her mercenary career that she was even out this evening. She had been contacted a few days ago by an anonymous individual, who had promised a large payment for a job he needed to have completed.

Having had nothing else to do, other than spying on the Teen Titans in preparation for her strike of course, she had accepted. The contact had said to meet him at the top of the Wayne Enterprises building in Jump City, and this was where she was waiting for him.

But after half an hour and still no sign of him, Raven was seriously beginning to lose her patience.

"Where the hell is he?" she mumbled irritably to herself. Seriously, a glacier was faster than this!

Raven gave an irritated groan, thinking of hundreds of possible activities she could have done instead of standing around here. If that slowpoke did not show up within five minutes, then Raven was ditching this job.

Five minutes passed and there was still no sign of that damn contact. Finally, Raven had had enough and threw her hands up in the air in resignation.

"Alright, that's it! I'm out of here!" she said mostly to herself, not really expecting an answer.

"Really now? And after I offered you such a high payment?" though fate always liked to throw something unexpected at us, exemplified here by someone suddenly speaking from behind Raven while a hand firmly grasped her shoulder.

Raven instantly froze up, her mind kicking into overdrive. _'How the hell did he manage to sneak up on me like that? I never even felt him approach!"_ she thought frantically. Instinctively, she now knew that this was not a man to trifle with.

"Took you long enough to get here. Got stuck in traffic or something?" Raven asked sarcastically, trying to cover up her unease.

"That is irrelevant. What is relevant however is if you are willing to accept the job" the man stated calmly. On some level, Raven was sure that she had heard that man's voice before, but dismissed it for the moment.

"That depends on what the job is" Raven countered as she turned around to look her employer in the eye.

He said nothing in response, instead he handed her an envelope which she opened and quickly skimmed through its information.

"So you need me to steal this item for you and then deliver it to a clearing outside the city?" she questioned to make sure she had gotten the facts right. He just nodded his head.

"Very well, easy enough job I guess" Raven said as she was about to walk away, but suddenly stopped herself "But just so you know, if I happen to run into the Titans because of this then I want 15% more than what we agreed upon"

Raven expected some form of outburst from her client, maybe that he would even withdraw the job. She had most certainly never expected him to chuckle at her.

"I wouldn't worry myself if I were you, Raven. The Teen Titans will be otherwise… preoccupied this evening"

She raised an invisible eyebrow under her hood, but just shrugged her shoulders and leaped off the building. As long as she was paid and she did not run into the Titans, Raven was not about to ask too many questions.

* * *

At Titans Tower we find a most peculiar sight in one of its hallways. A green buffalo was struggling to pull a massive rubber band into position and place it in a hook. The moment its task was done, the buffalo morphed into Beast Boy, holding a balloon in his hands and an evil smirk on his lips.

He even cackled evilly to himself.

"This is gonna be so sweet" he said to himself, and like Raven before him did not expect an answer.

"Okay, what are you doing this time?" a highly annoyed, and highly feminine, voice suddenly asked from behind him, causing him to jump in surprise and nearly drop his balloon on the floor.

As he finally managed to firmly grasp it in his hands again, he turned around to find Argent looking at him, and not in a happy way.

"Please tell me this isn't another one of your ridiculous pranks?" she half asked, half pleaded with him.

"Okay, it's not a ridiculous prank" he stated proudly while puffing out his chest "It's a brilliant one"

Argent did not even bother to come up with a retort.

"Alright, check it out. Remember how Cyborg put red dye in my shampoo and I turned brown for two days?" he asked seriously.

Here Argent had to struggle not to smile. Of course she remembered, how could she ever forget that? She even had a few photos of the incident she had managed to take without him noticing.

"Well sister, it's payback time" Beast Boy stated while slamming his fists together "I give you the _Beast Boy insta-lube 9000_. See when crome don steps around the corner, his foot tugs the string, the string trips the lever, the lever releases the mother of all rubber bands, which sends a balloon load of motor oil flying right and boosh! Pretty clever, huh?"

Argent just looked at him as if he had suddenly just turned into the single dumbest creature in existence.

"You're a genius" she deadpanned sarcastically, never once meaning any of the words spoken. Though Beast Boy seemed not to notice.

"It's just a little good fun" he countered before the sound of a door opening further down the hallway reached his ears.

"Here he comes" he whispered before dragging Argent behind a corner to hide.

"I do not think…" she began but was shushed by Beast Boy.

"But what if…" she tried again with the same result.

"Why are we hiding?" Cyborg whispered behind the two but was shushed by Beast Boy. It seemed to take him a second or so before he realized who exactly he had shushed as he gave a panicked yelp while he spun around to face Cyborg.

"Cyborg? You can't be Cyborg!" Beast Boy said frantically while pointing an accusing finger at him.

"I can't?" he asked, both looking and sounding confused.

"If you're you, then who's…?" Beast Boy asked while pointing down the hallway, a cold feeling beginning to grow in his stomach. This could not end well.

And right he was, because around the corner came obviously not Cyborg, but Starfire. Never seeing the trap in her path, Starfire unknowingly stepped on the tripwire and released the deadly projectile.

Beast Boy desperately tried to catch the balloon, but it was too late. Starfire had time to let out one surprised "eep" before her face was covered in motor oil and she fell over in surprise.

"Starfire!" Beast Boy cried out in horror as he rushed to her side, quickly followed by the others.

"You okay?" Cyborg asked in concern. Starfire meanwhile opened her eyes and looked at her friends in sadness and confusion.

"This is punishment? I did something wrong?" she asked in a meek voice.

"You didn't, he did" Argent clarified while giving a pointed glare at Beast Boy, who at least had the decency to look sheepish. There even was the sound of sheep in the background.

"Star, it was… you weren't supposed to… I didn't…" Beast Boy tried to explain, but continuously faltered under the looks given to him by his three friends. Then of course he had to make it worse.

"Heh, just remember to change that oil every few thousand miles" he tried to awkwardly joke his way free. It had the opposite effect as Starfire was instantly on her feet, a furious expression on her face.

"On my planet, we have a name for those who do such terrible things. You are a… a…" she seemed to struggle to say the last word but finally screamed it with enough force to blow the motor oil right off of her "CLORBAG VARBLERNELK" (Not sure if I pronounced that correctly)

"I'm a what-bag?" Beast Boy asked hesitantly.

"You heard the lady" Cyborg simply stated.

"I've never seen a bigger glorbag in my entire life" Argent deadpanned.

"Come on you guys, can't anybody take a joke?" he tried to defend himself. Before anymore words could be thrown at him, a particularly large fork of lightning stabbed down from the skies.

"Titans, trouble!" Robin stated as he appeared.

* * *

The trouble he was referring to was a pair of teenagers dressed in Asian designed clothes that appeared right on top of a bridge via a bolt of lightning.

"May we have fun here, brother?" the bigger one of the two asked.

"Of course! We are Thunder and Lightning! We may do whatever we please!" the smaller and skinnier one stated as he shot lightning into the bridge cables.

"Look brother, I command the sparks to dance!" he exclaimed eagerly as sparks flew everywhere.

"Amusing. Now listen as I make music" the bigger one said as he clapped his hands together, creating a sonic shockwave that tore the cables loose. The shorter one suddenly fired his lightning at a nearby bus and carved a lightning bolt symbol on it.

"Let all who pass this way know; Lightning was here!" Lightning said eagerly.

"And Thunder too!" Thunder exclaimed as he slammed his fists together, creating a small earthquake that somehow managed to set off all of the cars' alarm systems. This only prompted more laughter from the brothers.

"Most amusing" Lightning said.

"Hate to break it to you. But you guys got a lousy sense of humor. This ends… now!" Robin suddenly said as he appeared with his team. That order did not sit well with the brothers.

"No one gives orders to Thunder and Lightning! Taste my power!" Lightning screeched as he fired off a bolt of lightning at Robin. And thus the fight commenced.

* * *

A night guard was silently walking down past the exhibits in the museum, nonchalantly shining his flashlight this way and that. Truth be told, he was bored, and he expected the rest of his shift to be just as boring.

"_Gordon, you got anything down there?"_ someone suddenly asked from his walkie-talkie, causing him to nearly leap up in the air in fright. He fumbled with it for a few seconds before he managed to press the right button.

"No, nothing down here. It's as quiet as a grave. Why do you ask?" he inquired curiously.

"_Nothing. Just got a weird glitch on the security cameras here for a second, that's all"_

"Well, you can relax up there in your cozy office. There's not even a rat down here" Gordon said before he continued his patrol.

He had barely taken five steps before he was grabbed from behind and a strange smelling cloth was pressed against his face. He struggled feebly to get free, but whoever was behind him was holding him in a steel grip.

Finally his body grew slack and the assailant let him fall unceremoniously to the floor. With the guard dealt with, Raven casually stepped over him and walked up to one of the exhibits.

"Now why would someone pay so handsomely just to get a simple trinket?" she mused to herself as she gazed at the seemingly unassuming artifact. But eventually she just shrugged her shoulders and drew her sword.

With one swift cut, she removed the top of the glass cage. She quickly sheathed her sword and picked up the item.

"Oh well. So long as I get paid, I won't complain" Raven said mostly to herself. She was about to slip into the ventilation system when she heard a crash outside and the sound of several stone constructs collapsing.

Raven cast a surprised look at the entrance, deliberating whether to go and investigate or to just slip away. Curiosity won out in the end and she silently slipped outside.

What she found was a most peculiar sight. Two teenagers in strange garments were standing in the open and discussing with each other. A quick glance around the immediate vicinity showed that the two of them had been playing at little rough, if the destroyed stone pillars were any indication.

Carefully, she slipped closer while staying hidden in the shadows. Finally she was close enough that she could hear what they were saying.

"The green one's words. He says our fun is… wrong" the big and blue skinned one said hesitantly. Raven raised an intrigued eyebrow. Green one? Was he referring to Beast Boy? Had those two been in a fight with the Teen Titans?

Considering their apparent love of wrecking things, it was safe to assume that so was the case.

The skinny one suddenly burst out laughing.

"Wrong? He speaks nonsense, brother. How could such amusement be wrong?" he asked while gesturing towards the wreckage. "The fun is only beginning"

But as the skinny one dragged the big one away, Raven was looking at the pair with interest. Those two were obviously causing trouble across the city, and the Titans were not about to let them get away with it. This could actually be a perfect chance to do some reconnaissance on the Titans' skills.

All she had to do was wait for those second-rate heroes to show up.

* * *

She was not disappointed. Barely ten minutes later, both Beast Boy and Starfire were on the scene. Raven was currently crouching on her stomach on one of the roofs, close enough to hear what they were saying, yet far enough away to limit the chance of detection.

"Well. Either they were just here, or this is the ugliest modern art I've ever seen" Beast Boy tried to joke, but Starfire did not even look at him.

"You are not funny, you are a clorbag varblernelk" she stated coldly while walking past him. Up on her roof, Raven looked thoroughly confused. _'A what-bag?" _she thought to herself.

"Come on Star, you can't stay mad forever!" Beast Boy pleaded with her as she kept walking with her nose in the air "What, do I have to do the face? You know you can't resist the face"

The face he was referring to was in the form of him morphing into a small kitten with big eyes. He even let out a cute meow for added effect. Raven had to agree, that face would be highly effective against someone like Starfire.

Though it seemed that this time was an exception as Starfire just walked right past Beast Boy without a second thought. Beast Boy morphed back to his human form, a look of astonishment on his face.

"She resisted the face!" he burst out, not believing what had happened. Internally, Raven was a little amused by what she was seeing. It seemed that alien girl had a stone-cold side of her after all.

"Just talk to me Star! Come on, this is no fun!" Beast Boy pleaded with her, even going so far as kneeling with his hands clapped together. Starfire just continued to ignore him and Raven was beginning to grow extremely curious on what could have happened between those two.

"Wrong again, green one" the skinny one from before suddenly said as he and his brother came flying in towards the Titans. The skinny one was firing lightning from his hands while the big one was firing a sonic blast.

Both Titans dived out of the way of the attacks. Starfire soon found herself chased by the big one as he kept firing after her. She ran right up a wall and used it to flip over her enemy and land behind him. She was quick to fire her own starbolts at him and now he was forced to run away from her.

The skinny one tried to nail Beast Boy with lightning, but he morphed into a rabbit and scurried away. _'How fitting' _Raven thought sarcastically. Beast Boy soon morphed into a bird Raven had never seen before as more lightning bolts came at him.

He was quickly back on the ground, this time morphed as a mouse, and charged at the skinny one.

"Your animal forms cannot protect you forever!" the skinny one said confidently before he was rammed by Beast Boy as a buffalo. _'Idiot' _was all Raven could think about the skinny one.

Starfire and the big one meanwhile had become locked in a contest of power, as both fired continuous beams at one another in an attempt to overpower the other. Starfire won in the end and the big one was sent flying.

As he hit the ground, he had to crawl away from a green grizzly bear while Starfire became locked in a similar contest again, this time with the skinny one. _'I have to admit, they work pretty well as a team' _Raven mused to herself. It was obvious that at this rate, those two brothers were toast.

However, salvation for those two came in the unexpected form of a powerful energy blast that demolished a large portion of the area.

"Star!" Beast Boy's terrified shout echoed from somewhere, but Raven had lost sight of both him and Starfire. Finally, the two brothers stepped out from the smoke, clearly disoriented.

"Your gifts are your own. Who are they to tell you how to use them?" a voice echoed from all around them, putting the two brothers on high alert.

"And who are you that commands such power? Show yourself!" the skinny one shouted out in irritation. Raven was already looking for where this mysterious man was hiding, so far coming up empty.

"As you wish" he answered as he stepped out in the open, revealing an elderly man in red robes with white beard and moustache. A single eye was gazing out from under a strange hat he wore.

Upon seeing him, Raven did a double take in shock. But that shock soon turned to amusement. _'Small world we live in. small world indeed' _she thought humorlessly.

"I am but a humble old man. Whose power is drawn from nature, like your own" he introduced himself. Mentally, Raven snorted at him. _'Drawn from nature, my ass' _she thought. From her vantage point, she had a good view of the still smoking energy cannon conveniently disguised as a camera lying behind some rubble.

"Come with me, a sow as much destruction as you please" he continued calmly. The skinny one appeared to like the idea.

"Yes! More fun!" he burst out happily, but the big one placed a restraining hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Will we harm anyone?" he asked in concern. Raven raised a surprised eyebrow at his question. _'So the big guy has a conscience' _she thought.

"What?!" the skinny one burst out in anger "The green one has poisoned your mind"

The big one seemed to ignore his brother's words as he turned to the old man again.

"This… destruction, will we harm the innocent?" he asked.

"Would it matter if you did?" the old man calmly retorted "You are unique. Gifted. Better. Why should anything interfere with your enjoyment?"

Ouch, was that not a little too harsh? Sure, Raven liked to do as she pleased without a care for others, but she did not harbor any delusions about being better than others. She just had a complete disregard for rules.

"I am going. Follow, if you wish" he old man stated before he turned around and walked away.

"Come brother, and leave your foolish thoughts behind" the skinny one said as he walked after the old man, soon followed by his brother.

Raven meanwhile had seen enough and slowly crawled away from the edge before jumping to her feet and calmly walked away. She had a rendezvous point to reach.

* * *

What she found once she reached it was not something she had expected. The old man and the two brothers had arrived before her and she had decided to hide in the surrounding trees for the moment.

Out in the clearing, the old man had set up several sacks with stick in them and strange symbols carved on them. Apparently he was expecting the brothers to destroy them.

"Sticks and leaves?!" the skinny one questioned angrily "Is this a joke? There is no fun in blasting such frail targets!"

Raven could not help but agree. What could possibly be entertaining about such stupid target dummies?

"Are you certain, young master? Try, you may like what you see" the old man calmly encouraged. He sure liked to remain calm all the time. The skinny one grumbled to himself before firing a bolt of lightning at his chosen target. It immediately started burning.

"Dancing lights! Pleasing" he exclaimed in wonder while the big one had a look of awe on her face. Raven could not help but sweat drop at that. _'What? Never seen a fire before?' _she thought.

"Let Thunder try his hand" the big one said as he stepped forward. _'So, his name is Thunder, eh?' _Raven thought before her eye drifted to the skinny one _'And if my intuition still serves me well, I'd say his name is Lightning'_

A loud boom interrupted her thoughts, and as she turned back to the macabre scene she found that Thunder had just blown another target sky-high.

"Wondrous noise!" he shouted in joy. Raven felt like smacking her forehead or something similar. _'Boys' _she thought in resignation.

"See brother, there is no harm in our fun" Lightning said. The old man suddenly stepped forward.

"And there is so much fun to be had" he encouraged them and within seconds the two brothers were blowing up targets left and right. Finally they had torched the last target and were now looking at the old man expectantly, who was smiling sinisterly.

"More targets, old one!" Lightning said enthusiastically.

"Yes, please! Give us more!" Thunder pleaded.

"That won't be necessary. You've done quite enough" he calmly stated before turning towards where Raven was hiding.

"And why don't you come out and join us, young one?" he called out to her. Raven's eyes widened in shock that he had somehow spotted her. Nevertheless, she steeled her nerves and stepped out in the open with an emotionless face.

Both Thunder and Lightning watched in surprise as a young girl seemingly melted right out of the forest's shadows. But they became more than a little nervous when they saw the numerous weapons strapped to her form. The old man however looked completely untroubled by her appearance.

"Do you have what I asked for?" he asked her calmly. Raven narrowed her eyes at him. She was really getting annoyed by his calm persona all the time.

"Do you have what _I _asked for?" she retorted. The old man said nothing, but a cloud of smoke suddenly appeared in the area between them. When it cleared, a briefcase had appeared.

Calmly approaching the briefcase, while constantly holding a hand over one of her Desert Eagles under her cloak, Raven kneeled in front of it. She carefully opened it, her mouth splitting into a grin upon seeing the rows of money neatly stacked inside. Oh yeah, this would definitively keep her floating for quite some time.

"I kept my end of the bargain. Now what about you?" the old man asked, the faintest hints of a threatening tone slipping into his voice.

Smiling at him, Raven withdrew the object from within her cloak; a round yellow disc with a symbol that looked it had like Asian descent carved on its front.

She threw it like a Frisbee at the old man, who expertly caught it in mid-flight before throwing it high into the air. There it began to spin and hover as an energy field surrounded it.

Suddenly it exploded like a mini-supernova and beams of light struck each of the burning targets. Before anyone knew what had happened, red energy beams began to form between the targets, connecting them.

Both the brothers and Raven looked upon this spectacle in confusion, none of them understanding what it was that was happening. What none of them could see however was that if you looked at it from the air, then those beams were forming into a humanoid shape.

The form suddenly ignited into terrible flames that scorched the ground and anything too close.

"Rise!" the old man commanded while holding a staff into the air. On his command, a massive giant made of flames rose up and gave an inhuman roar. The brothers looked upon the creature in horror while Raven merely looked surprised.

"Burn, Fire! Burn it all!" the old man shouted to his minion, who happily obeyed and turned towards the nearby city. But it found its way blocked.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you? Play with fire, you're going to get burned" Robin stated. The burning giant however just waved its arm in font of itself, creating a wave of flames that forced the Titans to scatter.

With its obstacle gone, the burning giant continued to march towards the city, burning everything in its path. All the while, the old man smiled sinisterly at the destruction he had just caused.

"Good, very good" he commented to himself. Behind him, the two brothers looked on in horror.

"Brother, what have we done?" Thunder asked his brother in despair.

"What you two do best in life it seems" Raven suddenly said as she came up next to them. Lightning glared angrily at her.

"Then what have you done then?" he questioned hatefully, causing Raven to smirk sadistically.

"What I was paid to do" she simply answered. For a moment it seemed like Lightning was going to attack Raven, but the old man stopped him.

"Go, young masters! Fire is your creation, they have no right to destroy your fun!" he stated. To Raven that made no sense at all, though it seemed to make sense to Lightning.

"Yes, we must fight" he stated proudly. His brother however did not look convinced.

"But brother…" he began but was interrupted by Lightning.

"Do not annoy me with your foolish concerns, come!" he demanded. His brother said nothing in return, and together they vanished in a flash of lightning. The old man looked pleased with their departure.

"Well, it's been fun making business with you. But if we're done here, I'll just be on my merry way" Raven nonchalantly said as she begin to stroll away from the battle, briefcase in hand.

"That is of course your decision. However, I would suggest that you stick around for just a little while longer. It may prove… _enlightening _to you" the old man said in a knowing tone while giving her a sly grin.

Raven raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him. _'Is he referring to what I think he is?' _she thought suspiciously. Nevertheless, she took his suggestion to heart a silently slipped into a path of shadows to observe what would happen next.

Not long after, Robin came flying at the old man with a war cry and kicked his staff from his hands. Though it did no good in the end since he just stretched out his hand and the staff came flying back into his hand. He and Robin now faced off against each other.

"Robin, we meet at last" the old man said with a creepy smile on his lips.

"Who are you?" Robin questioned while narrowing his eyes at him. The old man's way of answering was by charging him with a war cry on his lips. Robin tried kicking him again, but the old man grabbed hold of his leg and threw him over himself. Robin landed on his feet but was forced to crouch low to evade a swing from the staff.

As they kept fighting, Raven found a golden opportunity for herself. Robin had all of his focus on the old man and she could easily shoot him in the back. But something was stopping her from doing so. She could not explain it, but she just felt on some instinctual level that she should not interfere with this battle. Not if she valued her life.

But if nothing else, this fight was proving to be enlightening to Raven. She had a first row seat in order to study Robin's fighting style in preparation for her battle with him.

But one fact she had picked up, was the manner in which this fight had started. Robin had come at the old man on his own, without back-up from his team. _'Running ahead to deal with the enemy while leaving your friends in the dust? Robin, my boy, you are making this way too easy' _Raven thought amusedly while a grin split her lips.

The fight had now degraded to the point that Robin was completely on the defensive, desperately trying to block the flurry of blows that rained down on him. In a last ditch effort, he rolled under a blow and came up behind the old man. He launched a punch at his back, but the old man merely sidestepped and delivered a back handed strike against his face.

Reeling from the blow, he never reacted in time before the staff swept his legs from under him. At that point, the battlefield was flooded with rain and Raven could hear the agonized death throes of the burning giant in the distance. Though the two combatants seemed not to notice any of this.

As he collapsed to the ground, the old man grabbed hold of the front of his shirt and hoisted him up against a tree. Robin tried to break free, but his efforts were in vain. the old man's grip was too strong.

"Robin, is that the best you can do?" the old man questioned condescendingly. But in the blink of an eye, a lightning bolt struck him in the face, causing him to let go of Robin and stagger back in shock.

But as both Robin and Raven looked at his face, they saw parts of his left half crumble away, exposing a bronze colored mask underneath. Neither of them could do anything else but stare in shock at the old man as he went up in smoke, literally.

As the smoke cleared, all that was left was the disc Raven had stolen earlier. Robin carefully picked it up, and as he gazed at it, he seemed to come to a conclusion.

"Slade" he muttered to himself, just loud enough for Raven to hear. She was sure that her heart stopped beating there for a second.

Slade? As in the Slade that had hired the H.I.V.E. to take out the Teen Titans? Why would he hire Raven to do his dirty work _after_ he had already fired her?

This was just too weird for Raven, but this also felt like it was way out of her league. So she silently slipped away, back into the shadows.

* * *

A new dawn was rising in Jump City, and the Teen Titans had a perfect view on the sight from atop a hill. Though not all moods were as sunny among the Titans as the morning was.

"So, Slade wants to destroy the city. Question is; why?" Cyborg mused out loud to Robin, who looked as brooding as ever.

"I don't know. But I will find out, and he won't get away with it" Robin stated with conviction. Beast Boy meanwhile was hesitantly approaching Starfire.

"So… am I, you know, still a clorbag?" he asked shyly. Starfire looked thoughtful for a while before she answered.

"No, I believe you are more of a… milnip wosserloop (again, no idea if I spelled that correctly. Stupid Tamarenian language)" Starfire stated. Beast Boy took the news extremely well as he began to perform a victory dance.

"Sweet! Go Beast Boy! I'm a milnip! Who's your wosserloop, huh?" he sung happily before a small thought suddenly struck him "That… is good thing, right Star?"

The only response he got was Starfire flying away while giggling to herself about something.

"Star?"


	4. Chapter 4: The Sum of his Parts

_Small note: This chapter is hardly the best one I've made. It's nothing special really, just a build up for what will happen in the next chapter._

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Sum of His Parts**

Today was a good day for everyone. The sun was high in the sky, the wind was gentle and barely any clouds were in sight. And what was even better, no criminal had so far shown up to spoil the Teen Titans' day at the park.

"Mmmhmm… would you look at that. A little sunshine, a little breeze. Only one thing could make this day better…" Cyborg commented happily as he reached into a grill and picked up… "… Four and a half pounds of baby fat ribs!"

How in the world he could eat so much, no one will probably ever know. He quickly stomped over to a table and sat down next to Robin who was currently devouring a hamburger.

"Man, I love picnic food" Cyborg stated as he began to gorge himself upon his piece of meat with vigor. Next to him, Starfire was slurping happily away at a drink she had in her hands.

"Agreed, Cyborg. This tiny yellow beverage is truly delightful" she said before continuing slurping it down. Both Cyborg and Robin stopped eating as they saw what exactly it was that Starfire was drinking, and they immediately stared at her as if she had just grown a second head.

"Uhh, Starfire…" Cyborg began, but found himself unable to finish the sentence, too horrific for him.

"… That's mustard" Robin finished for him instead, looking just as unnerved by what he was seeing.

"Is there more?" Starfire asked happily while hugging the bottle of mustard affectionately. The two boys looked at her with dumbstruck disgust, though they said nothing. No words could be spoken in that situation anyway.

Those two were not the only ones disgusted at what they were seeing. If Robin had been paying more attention to his surroundings, he would have noticed by now that ever since they stepped inside the park they had been under constant watch by a tanned girl with long blonde hair and sea green eyes wearing a grey trench coat.

The wonders of make-up, wigs and colored eye lenses. They allowed even someone as distinguishable as Raven to blend in and remain inconspicuous. She had secretly been trailing them ever since they set foot outside the tower, keeping to the shadows a much as possible.

But now, as she sat alone on a park bench not too far from the Titans, she began to wonder if it was all worth it. Watching Cyborg ravage a piece of meat like a starving wolf while Starfire was drinking mustard like it was a soda was not a very pleasant view.

"Remind me to never get invited to a dinner made by Starfire. I prefer to keep living" Raven muttered quietly.

Still, even if this was disgusting to watch, she had work to do. She still needed to kill Robin, and to kill Robin she needed to deal with the other Titans.

And for that, she needed information on how they acted, what their strengths were, what their weaknesses were, who they worked best with, who were the bigger threats etc.

"It will all be worth it in the end" she mused to herself. A commotion from the team brought Raven's attention back to what they were doing. Apparently they had decided to start playing a game.

She just witnesses Robin run right over Beast Boy who had morphed into a triceratops and threw the ball at Cyborg. The ball came closer, Cyborg was ready to catch it. He was in a perfect position.

"I got it! I got it!" he shouted enthusiastically. Then he just froze up like a statue. The ball hit him in the head, and he fell over like a log.

The rest of the team gathered around him in panic while Raven discreetly moved closer to get a better look. She, like the Titans, was wondering what had just happened.

For a while, nothing happened. Then, Cyborg finally opened his eyes again.

"Cyborg, are you alright?" Robin asked in concern as Cyborg groaned.

"Yeah" he answered as Starfire and Robin helped him stand back up "Thanks"

"Okay, what just happened to you?" Argent asked. Behind a nearby tree, Raven thought the same thing. _'Yes, what could possibly cause you to shut down just like that? And more importantly, how can I exploit it?"_

"Something must have gone wrong with my system" Cyborg answered as he began running a diagnostic on himself.

"Aw man, my power cells are dying" he suddenly stated. Unseen, Raven's eyes widened in surprise _'Power cells? That's was causing trouble for him?"_

"Dying?!" Starfire burst out in shock. Cyborg was quick to reassure her.

"It's only a battery, I'm fine. Happens every couple of years. Just a natural part of being unnatural" he explained, but Raven could easily detect the underlying feelings of depression and sadness.

His powers were making him a form of outcast, unable to experience joy on the same levels of others. No matter how normal he may look or act, he would always feel that he was anything but natural on the inside. He would always be… different.

Raven could most certainly relate to him on that level.

"So, what do we do?" Robin asked, obviously this was not his area of expertise. Cyborg just picked up the ball he had been hit with and handed it to Robin.

"You keep playing, I go home and change batteries" he answered before walking towards the tower. The others were looking at his back hesitantly.

"You sure you don't want help?" Beast Boy asked.

"Just because I can't have fun doesn't mean y'all can't" Cyborg simply said as he kept walking.

Raven meanwhile was already working overtime to exploit this new piece of information. _'So, he runs on batteries in order to survive. Assuming his batteries has the same weaknesses as a normal battery then with the right tools he should be easy as hell to knock out of the equation' _

But it was not long after Cyborg had left that the Titans' alarm went off among them.

"Titans, trouble!" Robin shouted and they were off, Raven following closely behind them.

* * *

"Show's over, Mumbo!" Robin stated harshly as he faced today's villain with his team "Now hand over the jewels before the critiques decides to trash your performance!"

Hiding behind a pile of rubble in the junkyard turned battlefield, Raven felt like slapping her forehead. _'He has the element of surprise, has his enemy outnumbered and is occupying the higher ground. And his first move is to say a corny one-liner? And he's fighting a robber dressed up as a… stage magician? Geeze, what is it with heroes and villain these days?! What's next, a coach potato with a remote as a weapon?'_

"Now Robin, I'm sure there's a peaceful solution here" Mumbo Jumbo stated calmly before two bombs suddenly appeared out of nowhere in his hands "But this isn't it!"

He then proceeded to lob them at the Titans, forcing them to scatter. He kept throwing all kinds of explosive objects at the team while laughing maniacally.

The Titans tried to fire back from behind cover, but the nimble magician just kept dodging their attacks as if it was child's play.

"Teen Titans, go!" Cyborg suddenly shouted. _'Wait, Cyborg?' _Raven thought in confusion as her head snapped in the direction she had heard the voice.

Yup, there he was, ready for battle with an oversized battery strapped to his back. _'So, you would rather forego your own health than leave your team to fight alone. Interesting'_

Apparently Raven was not the only one caught off guard by his appearance, as Mumbo never reacted in time to dodge a sonic blast from Cyborg. He was sent flying into a pile of rubble.

Though the guy was quickly back on his feet while pulling out a length of colored rope from his sleeve.

"Nothing up my sleeve, and presto!" Mumbo exclaimed as he lashed out with the rope like a whip, causing it to encircle Cyborg like a snake and bound him tightly.

But Robin had taken that opportunity to come at Mumbo from above with a kick. Though Mumbo just looked mildly amused by Robin's attempt.

"Need a hand?" he asked as he stuck his hand inside an old pipe. That hand suddenly stuck out from a completely different pipe and grabbed hold of Robin's cape, suspending him in the air.

A barrage of punches suddenly came out from more pipes surrounding Robin, who could do nothing but hang there like a piñata. If only Raven had had her sniper rifle with her, or at the very least a camera.

"My turn!" Argent shouted as she formed a massive crimson drill out of her energy and sent it at him. Mumbo just held out his hands as if he was expecting it to stop.

Which it surprisingly did. And with a wave of his hands, the energy construct dissolved into flower petals.

"You think that's good, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat" he said as he held his magician hat in his hands.

"Hokus pokus!" he exclaimed and a flood wave of stuffed rabbits burst out of his hat. Argent was quickly buried under the unrelenting, although kind of cute, avalanche. Raven sweat dropped at the scene. _'Beaten by rabbits, now that's just sad'_

Beast Boy meanwhile tried to ram Mumbo as a ram (original idea).

"Pick a card" Mumbo said as he brought out a deck of cards "Every card!"

Beast Boy was subsequently smashed back by the barrage of cards the Mumbo unleashed on him.

"For my next trick I require a lovely assistant" Mumbo suddenly said as he brought out a cane from behind his back and somehow managed to reach into the air a snag Starfire with it.

Before she could even react, she was imprisoned inside a wooden box with only her head and feet sticking out. The whole scene soon turned more sinister as Mumbo brought out a saw and held it over her.

"It's only fair to warn you, I have no idea what I'm doing" he revealed.

While Starfire was looking fearfully at the saw in Mumbo's hand, Raven was looking at the whole scene with something akin to disbelief. _'These guys managed to beat me and my teammates, who were the top students at H.I.V.E. Academy, and now they're getting overpowered by a second-rate stage magician?' _she thought before letting out a mental groan _'I'll never hear the end of this'_

Though before Mumbo could begin cutting, Cyborg tackled him from the side, pinning the smaller man underneath his heavy form.

"I hate fighting dirty. Shall we clean you up?" Mumbo asked as water suddenly spewed out from the flower he wore on his clothes and flung Cyborg off of him. He crashed right into a garbage truck.

Though sadly, his external power pack was destroyed in the process. And without a power source to sustain himself, Cyborg shut down. The back compartment was soon opened and Cyborg's lifeless body was dumped into a conveniently placed hole in the ground.

Though none of the Titans saw that and they all assumed that Mumbo had taken him as he drove away in the same garbage truck Cyborg had landed in. they were quickly in pursuit of the robber.

But Raven lingered just a little while longer. She had seen where Cyborg's body had gone, and could not help but feel a little amused over the fact that in the desperate attempt to save their friend, the Titans were actually running in the wrong direction.

Casting a quick glance at the direction the team had run off to, Raven wondered curiously how long it would take for them to realize that Mumbo had in fact not taken their friend. Would they still be able to get back in time to save him?

Well, no matter. If the Titans failed to rescue their friend, then it was one less obstacle in Raven's path. But for now, she needed to catch up with them if she wanted to see the end of this show.

* * *

It was not hard to catch up with them, Raven just needed to follow the trail of weirdness that Mumbo left behind. Seriously, was he even trying to get away? Even a blind man could follow his trail.

And once she caught up with them, she had a first row view of the humiliation that was the Teen Titans getting outclassed and outmaneuvered by Mumbo one after the other.

The fighting had first taken place on ground level, but now they had moved to the rooftops. Mumbo was still ahead of them, bouncing from one rooftop to the other like he was a kangaroo. Three of the four Titans were in hot pursuit, but Raven had lost sight of Robin. Mumbo suddenly spun around with his wand in hand.

"Abra cadabra! Alacazab! Hokus pokus!" he shouted as he fired away blasts of magic at his opponents. But Raven was getting bored by this really fast now.

"You'll never stop the Amazing Mumbo! Never, nev…" he was in the midst of his rambling when a shuriken came flying out of nowhere and knocked his wand from his hands. Robin was quick to swoop in and catch it in the air.

He turned towards Mumbo and with a satisfied smirk, he broke the wand in two. Mumbo gave a wail of horror before he broke down into tears as his magician clothes disappeared to reveal a middle-aged man dressed in simple work clothes.

The Titans were quick to surround him and Robin strode up to grab hold of his clothes and hoist him to eye level.

"No more tricks! Where… is… Cyborg!" he demanded. Mumbo just looked at him in confusion.

"How should I know?" he asked. The answer did not sit well with the team.

"Where is he?!" Robin demanded again.

"You took him from the damned junkyard!" Argent exclaimed angrily.

"What have you done with him?!" Starfire asked just as furiously. Not too far from them, Raven smiled to herself. _'And here is where the bomb is dropped'_

"Nothing! Honest! When you broke the wand you broke all my spells! Even if I had done something it would've been over now, poof he'd be standing right here!" he explained frantically to them. A look of realization passed among the Titans.

"If Cy's not with him, then he's still back at…" Beast Boy began.

"… The junkyard!" the whole team finished together.

"So, do I still have to go to jail?" Mumbo asked merrily from where he had been dropped to the roof. The whole team turned to glare at him.

"I thought so" he mumbled to himself. Robin suddenly turned towards his team.

"Nice work with the shuriken throw by the way. Didn't know that any of you knew how to use it" he said. The whole team looked at him in confusion.

"Uhhh, Rob. None of us threw that shuriken, we thought you did" Argent explained uncertainly. Robin's eyes widened in surprise before they narrowed in suspicion. If none from his team threw it, then who did?

As his eyes traveled across the rooftops, he caught a quick glimpse of blonde hair behind a ventilation shaft before it disappeared out of sight.

"Hey, you!" he shouted as he ran in the direction he saw the hair, the rest of the team staring after him in surprise. When he reached the area, he found it empty but he most definitively saw a shape dart down a fire escape and disappear into an alley.

Firing his grapple gun, he swung after the person. As he landed at the entrance to the alley, he found the person had run into a dead end. He was trapped.

"Alright, who are you?" Robin demanded as he stepped inside the alley. The person at first had his back turned to him, but now he turned around to reveal himself to actually be a girl with blonde hair and wearing a grey trench coat.

"I must say, it took you long enough to spot me. I've been trailing you the whole day without you ever noticing" the girl responded condescendingly. Robin's eyes narrowed in anger.

"You were _spying _on us?!" he burst out. The girl just gave him a mocking smile.

"I prefer the term 'discreetly observing'. Sounds much more friendly" she retorted. Robin grew even more suspicious of her. That voice, he was sure he had heard it before, but where?

"If I were you, I wouldn't dally around here for too long. Your metallic friend still needs your help" the girl stated calmly. Robin immediately bristled as his mind jumped to hasty conclusions.

"What have you done with him?" he demanded furiously of her. She just laughed at him.

"Oh, I've done nothing. But there are maybe others who would do something to him if they found him first" she responded humorlessly. "Though don't worry. We'll meet again soon enough. I'm just getting started after all"

And with that said, the girl pulled out a flash bang and threw it to the ground. Robin had just enough time to cover his face with his cape before it went off.

When Robin felt safe to look again, the girl was gone.

* * *

At the end of the day, the Titans had managed to rescue Cyborg and were once again in the park enjoying the day. But Robin could not find much enjoyment anymore today.

That girl, who was she? Why had she helped them? And why did Robin kept feeling that he had met her before?

Too many questions, not enough answers for them. Whoever she was, Robin could just feel it in his bones that this was not the least time they would meet.

She would be back in time, and Robin would be ready for it.


	5. Chapter 5: The Hunt is On

**Chapter 5: The Hunt is On**

'_It's finally time' _a bullet was carefully pressed inside a magazine before it was slammed inside a Desert Eagle.

'_No more waiting around' _the bolt action system on a sniper rifle was tested in case it needed repairs.

'_All the preparations have been made' _several Molotov Cocktails were placed on a table for inspection.

'_After two months…' _a P90 was locked and loaded before being placed on a table.

'… _I'll at last make my move' _an AK-47 was slowly assembled together before several magazines to the weapon were dumped into a bag.

'_No doubt they'll try to stop me' _a bowie knife was sheathed inside a combat boot.

'_But it'll be in vain' _a broadsword was sharpened with utmost care, violet hair being temporarily reflected on its smooth surface.

'_I've made plans for nearly every scenario' _C4 explosives were stacked on top of each other like a pyramid construct.

'_I cannot fail at this' _twin Desert Eagles were holstered on a belt hanging around a slim person's hip.

'_I've spent too much on this for it to fail' _M67 grenades were dumped inside a bag.

'_No, I will succeed' _a cloak was fastened around a person's shoulder.

'_There is no other alternative for me' _the broadsword was sheathed on the person's back before a sniper rifle was slung over a shoulder.

'_I hope you're not feeling too cozy up in your nest, little Robin, because the Raven is about to tear you down to the cold ground'_

* * *

Early mornings were always a pain in the ass for most of the Teen Titans. Key word here was 'most', since Robin rarely slept for long. Exemplified here by him being up at five in the morning and seated in front of the computer in the living room.

His eyes were transfixed by several screens showing different parts of the city. Robin was constantly vigil, always on the lookout for crime, never resting in his duty.

But today it was more than his sense of duty that drove him to keep a constant watch on the city, it was a feeling of trepidation. There were no words to describe it properly, but Robin could just feel that something was going on.

Something was stirring in the criminal underworld, and Robin would not be caught off guard by it.

His glare grew deeper against the screens as they cycled through security footage from around the city.

"Whoever you are, you won't get away with whatever you're planning" he muttered, as if he expected this enemy of his to hear him from across the city.

But eventually he grew tired of just watching a screen and rose from his seat. With quick strides, he set his path towards the garage. He briefly toyed with the idea of gathering the team for this, but decided against it.

They would not appreciate being dragged out of bed and thrown out on patrol just because Robin had a feeling something would happen. No, he would only call on them if he needed them.

He could worry about the team later, right now he had a city to patrol.

* * *

A great advantage of being out this early, was that traffic was nonexistent at this hour. Most people were still asleep, leaving the roads wide open for Robin to zoom past.

Though today he found no joy in the wind rushing into his face or the feeling of excitement that always came with travelling at break-neck speed. Today, all his thoughts were occupied by that feeling that had plagued him the whole day.

He could not help but worry. What will happen? Who is trying to destroy the Titans today? What are their plans? It was like a splinter in his brain, driving him slowly insane.

Ahead of him, the sun was just barely starting to peek over the edge of the horizon. Soon the darkness of the night would be driven away for the day, but this early there were still plenty of areas left were darkness reigned.

'_Plenty of places for an assailant to hide in' _were the pessimistic thought of Robin as he speeded down the road, his eyes constantly on the lookout for danger.

But suddenly another feeling arose in Robin. This one set him even more on edge, because unlike the last one he knew this one. He had felt it enough times in his so far short lifetime to recognize it.

He was being watched.

Not too far ahead of him, on top of a building, a dark figure silently slipped into position. He brought forth a sniper rifle from his back and took aim down the road. Straight at the approaching Robin.

With calm patience, the sniper waited for the right moment to pull the trigger. Each second Robin came ever closer to the sniper's position, yet still he waited. Finally he pulled the trigger, the bullet launching itself from the barrel and soared right at Robin.

Robin was not sure how, but his instincts had screamed at him to make a sudden turn. He did just that, feeling a high caliber bullet pass right through the air where his head would have been had he not turned.

But he was moving too fast to correct his course in time, and his bike slammed right into a parked car. Robin was thrown right over it and landed painfully on his back on the sidewalk.

Though he still had enough sense to hastily crawl behind the relative safety of the car, not a second too soon as a second bullet impacted where he had been lying just a second earlier.

Ignoring the near numbing pain in his back, he leaned against the car and carefully peered around its side, nearly getting his face blown off in the process by a third bullet.

Robin took a moment to slow his breathing down and calm down as he tried a second time, this time no shot came his way and he actually managed to catch a glimpse of his would be assassin.

He was up on a nearby roof, a high caliber sniper rifle clutched in his hands. Robin could not see much of him, too many shadows were obscuring him, but he caught sight of one detail that sent anger coursing through his veins.

The assassin had only one eye.

"Slade" he hissed in anger under his breath. Slade narrowed his eye at Robin before he turned around and sprinted out of sight. Robin meanwhile was only seeing red as he fired his grapple gun and swung up on the rooftop.

He was quick to spot Slade running with all haste across the rooftops away from him. Robin was instantly on his heels. Anger clouded his vision. No other thoughts or worries concerned him anymore, all his focus was on Slade.

As the two kept running across the rooftops, Robin never even thought of calling for back-up. He was going to finish this alone, no matter the cost.

For how long the chase lasted, Robin neither knew nor cared; he would chase Slade for all of eternity if he had to. But eventually the chase led them to Jump City airport.

Slade quickly vanished inside a hangar and Robin was not far behind. But as he slipped inside, he found to his already massive anger that he had lost sight of Slade among the humongous piles of crates.

Cautiously, he slinked his way around the crates, looking for his enemy. But there was no sign of him.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of a plane's engines starting up outside. And as he cast a surprised look towards the hangar doors, he saw a figure dart outside. Robin's eyes narrowed in frustration that his quarry was trying to get away.

"Oh no, you don't" he snarled as he sprinted after him. As he exited the hangar, he saw to his even greater anger that a plane was in the midst of taking off, and Slade had just climbed on board.

"You're not getting away from me that easily!" he shouted after the departing plane as he ran to intercept it on the runway. It was slowly getting away from him, but Robin pushed on relentlessly.

Finally, the plane starting gaining altitude from the runway. Running out of option, Robin fired his grapple gun at the landing gear. Robin managed to get on board just as the landing gears were withdrawn into the plane.

Not about to waste valuable time, Robin slipped out of the cramped space and soon entered the rear part of the passenger compartment.

Peering forward in case of an ambush, he found the way clear all the way to the cockpit. So he cautiously strode forward, eyes constantly scanning the seats he passed in case there was a trap hidden.

Apart from the noise of the engines outside, there were no other sounds on board, and it was a little unnerving to Robin. But he was not about to give up now, not when his quarry was so close.

Eventually he reached the door leading to the cockpit. And with slow and uncertain hands, he reached towards the door handle.

But before he could even grasp it, a sword pierced the door and would have skewered Robin had he not jumped back in time. Though the tip of the blade still managed to penetrate his shirt and leave and nasty cut on his chest.

The blade was quickly withdrawn from the door before it swung open from the other side, revealing a figure that Robin had been beginning to think he would have never seen again.

"You" he snarled out in contempt as he glared with narrowed eyes at Raven, who casually sauntered out of the cockpit while sheathing her broadsword. Robin idly noted that she was not wearing her cloak and hood this time, though she was still armed with her usual twin Desert Eagles.

"Yes, me. I told you before that we would meet again soon enough, or have you already forgotten it?" she asked tauntingly. It instantly clicked in Robin's mind; it had been Raven who had stalked them before. Growling threateningly at her, Robin assumed a fighting stance.

"Where's Slade?" he demanded hatefully, causing Raven to smile at him.

"Not here" she answered as she brought out an eye patch and held it over her right eye.

"Amazing what a simple eye patch, a couple of shadows and a creative mind can do" she commented mockingly. It took a moment for Robin to piece together the puzzle, but when he did he felt like slapping himself.

It had never been Slade he had seen on the roof, it had been Raven. He had just assumed it was Slade when he only saw one eye. Raven had thrown out a bait for him to catch, and he had swallowed it. Hook, line and sinker.

"Then what do you want?" Robin asked suspiciously. Raven's smile now grew more sinister at the question.

"I'll give you three guesses" she answered before she pulled out a bowie knife from her boot and lunged at Robin. He jumped back just in time and came at her with a fist.

She dodged underneath it and swung her knife at his gut. He caught her wrist and twisted it until she dropped the knife with a grunt of pain. She suddenly slammed her other hand into his guts.

He staggered back from the blow while Raven tried to punch him in the head. He deflected the fist and sent his own at her. She leaned her head sideways before grabbing hold of his outstretched arm and gave it a rough yank.

Robin was dragged forward and received a knee to the gut. Though he quickly grabbed hold of Raven's waist and lifted her up, slamming her head against the roof. Disoriented by the blow, she had no time to prepare before she was roughly slammed to the floor.

Robin towered over her, but she suddenly struck out with both her legs at his chest, smashing him to the floor as well. They were both up on their feet quick enough and were soon exchanging blows again.

He would swing, she would dodge. She would kick, he would block. An uppercut against Raven was deflected, a punch to Robin's face was caught before being twisted around. An elbow to his nose caused Robin to let go as blood squirted out of it.

Raven grabbed hold of the roof and used her arms to swing herself at Robin, kicking him right in the chest.

But Robin was upon her in an instant, tackling her to the ground before grabbing her head and slamming it into the ground. She in turn just spit out some blood from her mouth before smirking at him with bloodstained teeth.

"That all you got, bird boy?" she taunted before grabbing hold of his throat and head-butted him repeatedly. Raven then threw the dazed Robin right over herself before climbing back to her feet.

"I hope you can take more than that, because I'm just getting started" Raven stated as she advanced upon Robin again, who had brought out a birdarang from his utility belt.

* * *

06:30 am. Now why would Cyborg be up at this hour someone might ask as he staggered groggily through the tower's hallways?

The answer was in the form of his stomach rumbling loudly in protest over being empty.

"Man, I should have eaten that last slice of pizza instead of giving it to Starfire" he grumbled to himself as he finally entered the living room. He quickly made his way to the small kitchen and began rummaging through its contents on the hunt for something edible.

When he later emerged with a sandwich in hand, he noticed a mug of coffee was standing on the computer.

Curious, he approached it and gave its content a quick look over. Black coffee, half full, had already grown cold.

Robin.

Must have been up early and done what he usually does. Though Cyborg guessed that he had decided to go out on patrol on his own, if the coffee mug was any indication. Internally, Cyborg became worried. What if he ran into trouble out there? Would they be able to get to him in time?

But he quickly shook those thoughts away. It was Robin he was thinking about, the guy could handle himself just fine. Besides, if there was any trouble, Robin would call for them.

"There's absolutely nothing to worry about" Cyborg said to no one in particular as he strolled out of the living room while munching on his sandwich.

* * *

A kick to his arms that were held like a shield in front of him forced Robin a few steps back before more kicks and punches rained down on him from Raven.

He tried to kick out, but Raven caught it and twisted it around, sending Robin to the floor. He was quickly back on his feet just as Raven was about to deliver a blow to his back. He deflected the blow and delivered a haymaker to her chin.

Robin rushed her and delivered blow after blow. Raven either dodged or blocked the attacks but got no room to strike back.

Internally, Robin was a little worried about this fight. Battling on board an airplane was not his area of expertise. It was too cramped and narrow for him to use most of his weapons and moves effectively.

Nor was there much room to dodge and maneuver in here. It all came down to strength and endurance. Who could hit hardest while taking more of a beating than the other.

At first, Robin had thought that he held the upper hand in those areas, but he had been given a nasty surprise when he found that this petite girl he was fighting was just as strong as him, if not even stronger, and could take one hell of a beating.

The only advantage this battlefield was giving Robin was that Raven could not use her broadsword in here, and there was no chance in hell she could use her guns. One bullet hitting at the right place would be all it would take, and this whole plane would be torn apart by the decompression.

Finally Robin managed to slip past Raven's defenses to deliver a fist to her gut, causing her double over in pain. He was never given a chance to strike again before Raven had managed to draw a stiletto knife from her belt and stabbed it into his thigh.

He cried out from the sudden pain and was unprepared when Raven pulled out a second knife from her belt and slashed it across the R logo he wore on his chest, drawing blood. A boot to his chest pushed Robin away from Raven, who was backing away from him.

"_Boss, we've reached the target area" _a voice spoke through the plane's speakers. Not too long after, someone stepped out of the cockpit, dressed head to toe in pilot gear. Raven meanwhile was smiling sinisterly at this point.

"Good, then we can really get started" she said as she was handed a portable oxygen mask and put it on. Before Robin could even begin to fathom what she needed it for, Raven brought out a bomb trigger and pressed it.

Every single door on the plane was promptly blown off their hinges and the whole plane shook. Robin was forced to hurriedly grab hold of a nearby chair, lest he be dragged out of the plane. Though his cape was not helping things as he felt it being roughly pulled on.

"Wish you had left the cape at home now, don't you?" Raven shouted over the gale that raged inside the plane while the pilot took the chance to bail out with a parachute strapped to his back "And let me give you one last gift before I depart as well!"

Raven then brought out a second trigger and pressed that one as well. No explosion came this time, but Robin could feel a current of electricity pass through the whole plane.

"EMP bomb! Cost me a fortune to get my hands on it! It has now knocked out all electronic systems on board this plane! Including your communicator and locator beacon!" Raven clarified to his horror. No communicator, no calling for back-up.

Just as Raven had planned.

She pushed a crate over to the open doorway out of the plane, that was now coming down like a meteor. Raven had also strapped on a parachute herself, and Robin could do nothing but hang on to his seat for dear life.

"See you on the ground, bird boy! Assuming you survive the landing of course!" Raven shouted gleefully before she pushed the crate out of the plane and jumped out herself, leaving Robin behind.

He gritted his teeth in both anger and pain. This did not look very promising to him. Seeing nothing else to do, he dragged himself into a seat and fastened his seatbelt. Now all he could do was pray that he would survive the landing.

* * *

As Raven landed safely among the trees in the forest beneath her, she allowed herself a small smile as she could just barely hear the boom that signaled that the plane had made its landing.

Disengaging herself from the parachute, she strolled over to the crate lying not too far from her. Opening it, she found most of her weapons packed inside. The first object to be adorned was her traditional cloak and hood.

After that came a handful of grenades, a Bor rifle over her shoulders and an AK-47 in her hands. Normally, Raven rarely used the AK-47 due to its lack of accuracy compared to newer and far more superior weapons.

But this time, it was the perfect weapon. It was sturdy, powerful and reliable. Three things you needed when out in the wilderness.

With her weapon load-out complete, Raven began to lightly jog in the direction a black plume of smoke was rising from.

* * *

By now, the whole team had found the energy to drag themselves out of bed and was now gathered around the table in the kitchen, enjoying their breakfast. But Starfire had noticed that one factor was missing this morning.

"Where is Robin?" she asked. The team looked up at her for a moment before Cyborg shrugged his shoulders.

"Probably still out on patrol" he answered before he went back to his breakfast. Starfire looked at him in confused alarm.

"He went out on patrol on his own?" she questioned in worry.

"That's what I guessed anyway. Found a mug of coffee abandoned at the computer this morning. I suspect that he'd been up early and monitored things before he got bored and went out for a ride" Cyborg explained to her. Though Starfire still looked worried.

"But what if something has happened to him? Should he not have called back by now? Should we not go out and search for him?" Starfire asked in growing amount of panic.

"Girl, calm down. It's Robin we're talking about. He can look after himself just fine" Argent reassured her.

"Yeah. I mean, if anyone of us can work fine on their own, it's him" Beast Boy added. Starfire seemed to calm down from her friends' words.

"Don't worry Star. If there's trouble, he'll call us" Cyborg stated.

* * *

The first thing that slipped out of Robin's throat when he regained consciousness was a pained moan. It felt like he had been used as a punching bag by Cinderblock. He weakly groaned as he surveyed his surroundings.

The plan was smashed to pieces around him, and he could feel that it was leaning slightly towards the left._ 'At least I'm still alive' _he thought bitterly.

Carefully, he removed his seat belt and used his arms to try to stand up. Big mistake as searing pain shot through his right arm. And with a cry of pain he collapsed back into his seat. _'I take that back'_

Clenching his teeth against the pain, he used the other hand to feel up his right arm. As his hand reached his shoulder, he had to bit together as pain shot through him again. His arm had been dislocated.

Internally, Robin let out a relieved breath. A dislocated bone was much easier to fix than a broken one. Well, no point wasting time, just get it over with. Robin braced himself before grabbing hold of the dislocated bone.

Taking a few deep breaths, he pushed hard. Robin felt like screaming for all he was worth as the bone was slowly put back into place, but he managed to restrain himself to a few painful whimpers. Finally the deed was done and Robin slumped together in his seat.

He then tried again to stand back up, taking care not to put too much pressure on his right arm. But he found not as much strength in his limbs as he had expected. He felt kind of lightheaded as well.

But as he finally managed get up on his feet once again, he finally noticed that the knife wound to his thigh was still bleeding. _'Well, that explains the dizziness' _Robin thought.

He slowly got down on one knee as he felt the world spin a little in his vision. Internally, Robin was surprised he was still even conscious, given that his seat was soaked in his blood.

He was quick to tear a piece of his cape off and used it as a bandage. The work of tying it around the wound was tedious, given that he had limited use of his right arm.

When he was done, he slowly staggered out of the wreckage, his whole body screaming in protest of him moving. But he still pushed on until he stepped out into the warming rays of the sun.

As he walked forward on unsteady legs, he cast a quick glance at the trail of destruction the plane had created in the forest when it crashed. His legs felt weak under his weight, and he was forced to collapse to his knees for a while.

"Well, this does not look good" he muttered to himself as his whole body throbbed like one giant bruise. For how long he sat like that, Robin was not sure, but when he finally found the energy to start moving again the sun had reached its peak.

With more strength in his legs this time, he crawled back up and surveyed the surroundings, trying to determine which way to go. The thought of calling his team entered his mind, but that idea was squashed when he remembered that Raven had disabled his communicator.

"Could this possibly get any worse?" he asked himself irritable. He got his answer when a hail of bullets impacted around him. Not about to stand around in the open, he threw himself behind what used to be an engine.

Meanwhile, from her hiding place among the trees, Raven cursed. This was exactly why she preferred weapons like the P90 or the AUG Assault Rifle, far greater chance of you actually hitting your target with them.

Robin was also cursing the situation. He was in no condition to confront Raven, especially now that she could freely use her arsenal. As much as he hated to admit it, he had only one option at this stage. Without hesitation, he did the only thing he could do.

He ran.

Robin felt more than heard the barrage of bullets impacting around him as he ran as fast as he could. Finally he vanished into the foliage. Behind him, the gunfire had stopped, but Robin got the distinct feeling that someone was now chasing him.

Robin fervently pushed branches aside as he bolted through the forest, for the moment fleeing blindly from his enemy. He suddenly tripped on a log, twisting his ankle in the process, but he quickly scrambled back to his and kept running.

The pain in his ankle slowed him down somewhat, but he never stopped, he just adopted a more hobbling run. Behind him, Robin could just faintly make out light footsteps closing in on him.

Biting back his pain, Robin picked up pace. A branch scratched up a wound on his chin, but he ignored it. Onward he stumbled through the forest in a desperate attempt to get away.

Suddenly he heard a sound from up ahead; the sound of rushing water. Finding his body being filled with newfound strength, he suddenly sprinted forward with increased vigor. Though it seemed that his hunter had done the same thing, as her steps grew increasingly closer.

Finally, Robin exploded out of the forest to come across a waterfall. He stopped momentarily in shock, having not expected this. Now it seemed as if his escape route was cut off. Unless he felt like taking a dive of course.

The decision was made for him when he heard that Raven was mere feet behind him. So he steeled his nerves and bolted towards the edge. Raven exited the foliage just seconds later and upon spotting Robin, took aim and let one bullet fly.

It sailed through the air and impacted into the exposed flesh of Robin's left arm. He cried out in pain and stumbled from the shot, but still managed to throw himself over the edge and into the raging waterfall.

Raven quickly raced up to the edge and peered in after Robin. She saw no sign of him in the churning water beneath, but to be on the safe side she fired wildly with her AK-47 into the river in hopes of scoring a hit.

Though eventually her clip ran dry. Raven quickly reloaded her weapon but did not resume her shooting. Her eyes observed the river critically, looking for any sign of her quarry. Nothing ever came up.

"Slippery little bastard" Raven mumbled to herself. Finally she gave up and turned around to head back into the forest, she would need to find a safe way down the cliff.

Not too long after she had left, Robin emerged gasping for breath further down the river. He was close to getting pulled back under again, but he found the strength to stay above the surface.

Desperately, he tried to swim towards the beach, but the current dragged him unrelentingly further down the river. Both his arms were burning up from the strain, his right arm in particular felt like it could snap at any time.

Staying above the surface was growing harder with each passing moment as his head kept dipping under the surface time and again. Panic burned through Robin's mind as he feverishly clawed at the surface to stay above it.

At one point he accidently swallowed a huge chunk of water, nearly choking him as his struggle against the current grew more desperate.

But at last, with one last surge of strength, Robin managed to reach the beach. Well, more like he was washed up halfway and then he did the rest.

With the last of his strength, he crawled weakly up the shore before his strength finally gave up on him and he collapsed to the ground. Blood was still flowing from his wound, but he had no strength in his limbs to do anything about it.

Was this how he would end his days? Stranded in the middle of nowhere while being hunted by a gun crazy chick? Not the way he had exactly imagined how he would die.

Those thoughts seemed to work like a cold shower on Robin as his half-closed eyes snapped open again. _'No, I will not die here! I will survive!' _he thought furiously as he struggled to at least sit up.

As quickly as he could, Robin tore another piece of his cape to bind up his second wound. Every muscle in his body was dead set on staying immobile, but still Robin pushed himself up and tried to walk away.

He only got a few steps before his legs gave way beneath him and he collapsed to the rocky ground again, whimpering slightly in pain. As he lay there, he could not help but snarl in anger at his own weakness.

He should be able to do better than this, dammit! He was not someone who needed help, he should be able to handle this well on his own. After all, he had been trained by the best.

But no matter how much he wanted to deny it, he could not do this on his own. With his team, he was nearly invincible. When together they could best any foe that lay before them, because that was what they were trained to do.

But here, he had no help. He was on his own, without supplies and equipment. Out here, he was alone. Out here, he was vulnerable. It was now that Robin finally grasped Raven's game. She had seen how powerful they were together, had been on the receiving end of that power.

She knew that when united, she had absolutely no chance of winning against the Teen Titans. So instead, she had sought to cut Robin off from his friends and then pick him off at her leisure. And her plan had gone off like clockwork.

Together, the Titans were strong. But one on one, Raven had the edge. Robin could not sugarcoat the truth here. If he went up against Raven now, he would die. She was in much better condition, had the better equipment for a death match and was supplied for this battlefield.

All Robin could do was run away. If his luck held, someone would eventually come looking for him out here. All he had to do was stay alive long enough for them to find him.

In theory, easy as hell. In real life, not so much.

He slowly rolled over on his back and stared up at the sky in defeat.

"Please, Titans. Hurry" he whispered as he lay there, trying to find the strength to keep running.

* * *

"How long has he been gone now?" Argent asked in concern to Cyborg, who was also starting to look a little panicked.

"Almost 7 hours" he answered nervously. The two sat in uncomfortable silence together in the living room, unsure on what this meant. Finally it seemed that Cyborg had had enough.

"Alright, that's it! I'm calling him right now" he stated as he strode over to the computer and activated the in-built communicator.

"Cyborg calling Robin, do you read me?" he called in. all he received was static. A knot formed itself in both Cyborg's and Argent's stomachs at that.

"Robin, do you read me? Please answer if you do!" he tried again. Still nothing but static.

"Come on, Rob! Please pick up!" he now pleaded desperately. Yet still no answer came from the other end.

"Cyborg, try using his locator beacon" Argent suggested hopefully. Cyborg did just that, but nothing came up. There was no locator beacon to pick up.

"Oh, this can't be good" Argent mumbled. Cyborg could only nod his head in agreement. He once again activated the communicator, though this time he was not calling for Robin.

"Starfire, Beast Boy, get your butts up here! We've got a situation!" he stated urgently. Not that long after, the aforementioned individuals came rushing in.

"So what's the emergency?" Beast Boy asked. Cyborg gave him a grim look.

"Robin's missing" he answered, earning a pair of gasps in response.

"Missing? How is that possible?" Starfire questioned. Cyborg gave a deep sigh before he explained.

"He's not answering any of our calls on his communicator, and his locator beacon has been turned off. We have no idea where he is" he explained dejectedly. It shocked both of the latecomers.

"Then, what are we supposed to do?" Beast Boy asked meekly. Though it was not Cyborg that answered him, but Starfire.

"We search for him!" she said fiercely, causing the others to turn their eyes towards her in surprise "Robin is our friend, and we will not abandon him! We will search the whole city if we have to!"

The team was chocked by her outburst, but they soon found their resolve hardening from her words.

"She's right, Robin would have done the same for anyone of us" Argent stated, the others nodding their heads in agreement.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" Beast Boy said excitedly as the team sprinted out of the living room.

* * *

Robin carefully pushed a branch out of the way as he staggered/hobbled through the forest. For how long he had done it since leaving the beach, Robin did not know. What he did know however was that his body was still sore as hell.

He suddenly stepped on an uneven patch of ground with his sprained foot. The sudden change of altitude for the foot caused Robin to accidently bend it, sending jolts of pain racing through his entire body.

"For fuck's sake!" he cursed as he collapsed to the ground. He then brought out his bo staff and used it as support as he climbed back to his feet.

"This day just keeps getting better and better" he muttered irritably to himself as he kept hobbling on, now using his staff as a crutch. Where exactly he was heading, he had no idea. All he knew was that he needed to get as far away from Raven as possible.

This sort of action was truly delivering a horrible blow to his pride, but there was nothing else to do. This was Raven's game, she held all the cards. And until he received back-up, he would most likely lose.

So he had no choice but to swallow his pride and accept defeat. For now at least. Once he had recovered, he would strike back; hard, and with interest.

But for now, those thoughts were only a hindrance to him, exemplified when he failed to notice a particularly large rot sticking out of the ground and that managed to ensnare his other foot this time. He went down with a surprised yelp.

"Dammit" he muttered to himself as he lay there face first on the ground.

* * *

If there was one thing Raven had learned when it came to tracking, it was that if your quarry managed to slip into water then your hunt just turned ten times more difficult. Those words seemed to ring true right about now.

It had taken her God knows how many hours before she had finally located the place where Robin had washed up. Though it seemed that the bird still had some strength in him since there was no corpse present for Raven to collect.

Right now, she was kneeling in front of a batch of stones, stones that were stained red with blood. She carefully ran a hand over the blood. Already dried, must have been spilled quite a while ago.

"Robin, dear boy, you're starting to become more trouble than you're worth" Raven mumbled to herself as her eyes scanned the area critically.

If she were to be honest with herself, Raven had expected this to be over about now. She had expected Robin to be too shaken up from the crash-landing to do anything but put up a token resistance.

She had most certainly not expected him to be able to make a run for it and actually manage to escape. What was more, he had somehow survived his suicidal dive and managed to slink away into the forest.

Raven had definitively, without a shadow of a doubt, underestimated Robin's survival instincts.

Now Raven had to waste countless hours on tracking down his sorry ass and finally put an end to this hunt.

But if there was at least one thing that was positive to Raven, it was that Robin would be in no condition to fight her once she caught up with him. Also…

"You're easy as hell to track now, bird boy" Raven said while smiling sinisterly as she eyed the trail that Robin had left behind in the form of blood and broken branches.

Not that Raven could really blame his lack of subtlety here. He was probably on his last legs as it was, he did not have the time and energy to cover his tracks up.

Well, no matter. It made Raven's job a hell of a lot easier. So with that, she hefted her AK-47 and strolled down the path Robin had gone.

"Once this is over, I'm going to Europe. Far away from this nuthouse I've stumbled into" Raven said out loud to no one in particular as she happily strolled after her prey.

* * *

"Man, where could he be?" Cyborg asked himself as he drove down the road in his car in search of Robin. The whole team was scattered all over the city, trying to find any trace of him.

Starfire had been the most active, and she was constantly trying to contact him even though they had not received an answer on the last thirty or so calls.

But as the minutes ticked away, and not even the faintest trace of Robin was found, the terror in all the Titans grew even worse. Where they already too late?

But they refused to accept the possibility just yet, not until they had turned the whole city upside down.

"_Hey, Cyborg. You got anything yet?" _Argent's voice broke him out of his brooding as his eyes snapped towards his communicator.

"No, nothing yet. I'm about to…" Cyborg began when his eyes caught sight of something just ahead "You know what, I'll call you back in a moment"

He did not give Argent a chance to answer as he turned off the communicator and stopped his car and got out. Tentatively, he approached what he had caught sight of; Robin's R-cycle.

It was horribly smashed at the front, obviously having rammed the car it was now laying wrecked next to, but there was no sign of its driver.

"Cyborg calling all Titans, I've located Robin's R-cycle" he called through his communicator. He was instantly flooded with frantic responses.

"_What?! Where?!"_

"_Is Robin there as well?"_

"_Where the hell are you, I'm coming over right now!" _

"Guys, calm down. I've only found his bike, there's no sign of the man himself" Cyborg explained while using his inbuilt scanners to thoroughly examine the area. His expression soon turned shocked when he discovered an unpleasant factor.

"Guys, I've found bullet holes in the area. Someone's been taking potshots at Robin" he said through gritted teeth. A collective gasp was heard over the communicator.

"_But who? Who could have done such a terrible thing?"_ Starfire's panicked voice broke through. Cyborg did not answer immediately, his eyes were locked onto the bullet holes with a hateful glare.

"I think I know" he muttered quietly to himself so no one heard him. In all their battles together, there had only ever been one enemy they had faced that used these kinds of weapons. _'So you've finally shown yourself again, huh?' _Cyborg thought.

"Listen, all of you! Robin's in big trouble, and if we don't find him soon he's gonna end up in a body bag!" he called frantically through the communicator.

"_But where could he be?" _Beast Boy asked worriedly. He was about to say something else, but Argent interrupted him.

"_Guys, I'm at the airport, and there's a commotion here about a plane that took off without authorization this morning" _she explained. Hope temporarily flared in the team. This could be the lead they were looking for.

"Do they know where it went?" Cyborg asked eagerly.

"_No, they tried to track it and call in the air force, but they lost all contact with it several miles outside the city. They guess that it malfunctioned and crashed" _Argent clarified hesitantly. The hope they had felt earlier came crashing down like a card house.

"It's the best lead we have so far. Argent, try to find out the location where they lost contact with the plane. The rest of us will regroup at the tower and prep the T-ship" Cyborg ordered, taking charge now that Robin was absent.

The rest of the team did not raise any objections to his order and raced to carry them out. Cyborg hesitated for a brief moment as he gazed at the wrecked R-cycle. _'You just hang in there, buddy. We're coming for you' _he thought with determination before he climbed into his car.

* * *

Eric Idle once sang the song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life". But if anyone dared to sing that song to Robin right about now, he would probably break his vow of never taking a human life.

He had been stumbling through the forest all day long now, and as far as he knew he had made no real headway. The sun was already beginning its descent from the sky. In another six hours or so there would be dark outside.

The hope of reaching civilization in time had all but evaporated rom Robin's mind by now, what he needed to focus on was found some form of shelter in time. He needed to rest and tend to his wounds anyway.

But what kind of shelter could he find out here in the wilderness? He had no time or energy to build his own, not with Raven on his trail. He would have to settle with a cave or a large tree.

But as he kept hobbling forward, a hail of bullets suddenly tore into the trees surrounding him. Robin immediately dived for cover, feeling the bullets whizzing past overhead.

In no time he was up and running again, even though his sprained ankle was throbbing in pain from the motion. Another hail of bullets nearly cut him in half and he backed away.

In desperation, he threw an explosive disc at where he thought the bullets came from, hearing a satisfying boom not long after. But another barrage of bullets from a completely different direction caused him to run away in surprise.

As he came up to a tree, a barrage of bullets from up ahead impacted against the tree, forcing Robin to take cover in shock. _'Just where the hell is she?' _he thought frantically. It felt like he was under attack from every direction.

He took off in a different direction, weaving among the trees to make himself a harder target to hit. But still bullets continued to zero in on his position, and Robin had no idea where exactly they were coming from.

In his haste he nearly ran straight over the edge of a ravine that seemed to appear out of nowhere as he crashed through the woodland. He was quick to alter his course and ran parallel with the ravine instead.

But as he was about to round a tree, a dark shape moved up from behind it and Robin felt something cold and metallic slam into his head. He fell backwards to the ground while blood spurted out of his nose.

"You sure know how to keep a chase interesting, bird boy" a feminine and very familiar voice taunted him. Robin could not at first discern the blurry image of the girl in front of him, his head spinning too much.

But eventually he could make out the blue cloak hanging around her form, the hood concealing most of her face and more importantly the AK-47 she clutched in her hands and was aiming at his chest.

He tried reaching for the bo staff he had dropped, but Raven stomped hard on his hand, eliciting a pained outburst from Robin, before kicking the bo staff well out of his reach.

"But the fun ends here for me, along with your life" Raven sneered. Though just as she was about to pull the trigger, Robin's leg shot up and kicked the weapon away from him. Raven ended up spraying the ground next to him with bullets.

Robin was instantly on his feet and with a few well-placed kicks and punches managed to disarm Raven, throwing the AK-47 over the edge of the ravine. He then threw a punch at her, which she ducked under to deliver a blow to his ribs. Biting back the pain, he brought an elbow into her back.

Raven fell to the ground, but twisted it into a roll so she ended up on her hands and feet. She lashed out with a kick that hit Robin in the back of his knee before spinning around and driving a fist from above into his shoulder.

Robin was driven to his knees from the blows while crying out in pain. He tried twisting around to deliver a punch of his own, but Raven easily caught it and smashed it back into his face.

He stumbled back in pain, giving Raven enough time to draw her broadsword. Robin attempted to attack, but Raven swung her sword at him. He leaped back in the nick of time but was forced to backpedal further as she thrust it at him.

Raven did not let up and continued to advance while using her sword's greater length to her advantage. Robin was forced to back away further as a flurry of sword strikes came at him.

He tried to duck underneath a wide swing and get in under her defense, but Raven just reversed her grip and slammed the pommel of her sword into his shoulder. He was thrown off balance by the blow and was nearly decapitated as a result had he not thrown himself flat to the ground.

Panting from exhaustion and pain, Robin barely rolled to the side before the sword buried itself where he used to lie. Before he could even think of exploiting it, Raven had withdrawn her sword and come at him again.

He was steadily forced further back as he desperately tried to stay out of reach of the sword, though it was easier said than done. As long as Raven carried that broadsword, Robin had little to no chance.

"You're both strong and skilled, bird boy, there's no denying that. But we both know that you can never beat me in your current state" Raven explained smugly to the panting Robin, who was leaning against a tree. He just glared at her.

Raven suddenly came at him again, but this time he had a plan. Just when he was about to get impaled, he threw himself sideways. The sword was buried in the tree and before Raven could withdraw it, Robin kicked her away from it.

"Will you just shut up and fight?" he snarled at her before he lunged at her. Raven jumped right over him before attacking with a flurry of blows. Robin was steadily forced back as he kept blocking and dodging.

He leaped sideways, he bent backwards, he deflected a kick, he dodged under a swing, he caught a fist and tried to hit back. It ended with Raven utilizing a judo move to throw him over herself and right into a tree.

Robin tried righting himself, but felt a boot slam into his back with near bone crushing force. He fell face first to the ground, moaning in pain, as Raven towered above him.

First she pulled her sword out from the tree trunk before sheathing it on her back again. Then she turned her full attention back to Robin who was lying beneath him.

"As you are right now, you're not even a challenge to me" she sneered at him as she pulled out a serrated knife from her belt. But Robin was not about to give up just yet as he suddenly struck out with both his legs, hitting Raven right in the stomach.

She stumbled back in both surprise and pain, but did not see where she backed. A huge surge of panic swelled up within Raven when she suddenly left nothing but air underneath her feet.

She had been pushed right over the edge of the ravine.

To her credit, she only let out a surprised yelp from the sudden lack of texture for her boots as she plummeted down towards the razor sharp rocks beneath.

While still falling, Raven managed to twist around and pull out her broadsword before plunging it into the rock face. She was left dangling from her sword rather comically. Raven even huffed in irritation.

"Well that could have gone better" she muttered to herself.

Robin meanwhile had begun to panic when he saw Raven fall from the edge. He had never meant to push her that hard and he began crawling towards the edge, fearful of what he would find.

Sure, she was the enemy here and she had tried to kill him, but Robin still had his form code of never taking a human life, whether to defend himself or an innocent. And if Raven died from this, her blood would be on his hands and that was something he would never forgive himself for.

Though he found to his great relief that Raven had survived and was now hanging on for dear life along the rock face.

For a moment, Robin considered whether he should try to help her up or simply taunt her back. He decided on neither when Raven spotted him looking down on her and pulled out one of her Desert Eagles and fired wildly at him.

Robin quickly crawled away from the edge as bullets tore into it. Deciding that sticking around would be a bad idea, Robin crawled back to his feet and limped away from the scene.

Below him, Raven let out an irritated grumble.

"You got lucky this time, bird boy. You won't be so lucky next time"

* * *

Starfire flew through the evening sky, her eyes scanning the vast forest beneath her. She was not alone in her search. Not too far from where she was flying, Argent was hovering around as well.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Beast Boy was using his various animal forms to search while Cyborg was using his extensive radar system.

They all knew that Robin was somewhere in the forest, the crashed plane they had searched just a few hours earlier was enough evidence for that. The track had led them to a waterfall, but there the track had grown cold.

Now they were forced to do a manual sweep of the entire forest in order to find him. And so far they had had no luck whatsoever.

Internally, they were all worried. It had been more than twelve hours since Robin went missing, and they still did not know whether he was dead or alive. They did not even know in what condition he was in, and it was tearing the team apart on the inside.

When you are on a team of friends, the worst pain you can experience is not one at your body. Nor is it at your spirit. The pain that hurt most of all is the pain of your friends, and the pain you feel when you are helpless to ease your friend's pain.

It was a sad truth in the world, and right now it was a truth that was bringing great amounts of pain to the Teen Titans.

"Robin, please be safe" Starfire whispered quietly to herself as a single tear fell from her eyes.

Back on the ground, Cyborg was trying to distract himself from the pang he felt in his chest by imagining all the different ways he could beat up Raven's butt before handing her over to the authorities.

So far, he had come up with a good number of ways that would surely leave the girl a broken mess.

But no matter how much he tried, he could not get fully rid of that pang of guilt in his chest that kept hammering away like a sledgehammer.

He should have called Robin the moment he saw he was out on patrol. He should have gone out after him. He should have gone out to with the team long before they did.

He should have done _something_.

Though he did his best to bury the guilt and focus on the task at hand. What was done was done, there was no point complaining about it. Robin was still missing, and he would find him.

But life was never that easy, as evidenced when Cyborg heard a low rumbling in the distance. Casting a curious glance at the sky, he patched into the weather feed and instantly cursed.

"Titans, we've got trouble inbound" he announced through his communicator.

"_What?" _Beast Boy asked, being too far away to ask Cyborg directly.

"I just checked the weather feed, and it says that a storm is about to hit this area" he explained. It was not long after until Starfire joined in on the conversation.

"_Yes Cyborg, me and Argent can see the storm clouds gathering in the north"_

This was bad, they already had enough trouble tracking Robin as it was. Adding a storm to the equation was not something particularly pleasant. Giving a heavy sigh, Cyborg spoke again.

"I hate to say this, but we need to abort the search for now" he said calmly. There was a few moments of silence after that, giving Cyborg time to steel himself for the verbal storm that was about to hit him.

"_What?!"_

"_Are you kidding me?!"_

"_You can't be serious!"_

Those three responses roared out of Cyborg's communicator at the same time, though thankfully Cyborg had been smart enough to hold it at a small distance from his ears.

"Look, I don't like it any more than you do, but we've gotta face facts here. That storm'll hit us in a matter of hours, and once it does it'll be impossible to conduct any form of search out here. The only thing we can do is regroup and wait it out" he explained.

None of the Titans liked to admit it, but they knew he was right. It would be impossible to keep searching once the storm hit them. They had no choice, if they wanted to help Robin then they would need to stop for now and continue later.

When no further objections were raised, Cyborg continued.

"We don't have to go back to the tower, we'll regroup at the crashed plane and wait it out there. Then at least we'll have some shelter over our heads"

A trio of affirmatives was all he received before the line went quiet. Cyborg gave a tired sigh as he cast one last look at the forest around him before trudging back towards their temporary camp.

* * *

Finding shelter had quickly turned into Raven's primary concern when the skies darkened, followed closely by thunder and lightning. The rain had not been far behind them either and was soon pounding relentlessly into the forest beneath it.

Raven had fortunately found a cave in the very same rock face she had been dangling from just under an hour ago. Now she was currently standing at the mouth of the cave, staring with impassive eyes out on the drenched world.

As another bolt of lightning stabbed down from the heavens, Raven could not help but remember the two brothers she had met in Jump City not that long ago. Those two buffoons who let themselves get manipulated by Slade into doing his dirt work.

'_Just like you, little girl'_

She shook her head furiously to clear that sudden thought from her mind. She had not been used, she had been hired to do a simple assignment which she had completed without problem.

But still, she could not fully purge her suspicion about Slade. Why had he hired her to begin with? Since he had technically fired them when they failed to dispose of the Teen Titans, it did not make much sense as to why he would suddenly come around and offer another job.

But those were thoughts she would have plenty of time to ponder on when she was done here. For now, all she needed to concern herself with was killing Robin. Nothing more, nothing less.

* * *

Well, the rain was most certainly not an appreciated addition to today's miseries for Robin as he trudged through the forest. He had still not found a shelter and he was now soaked to the bone. It was most certainly not a pleasant experience.

But what else was there for him to do? He needed to put as much distance between himself and Raven. He needed to recover if he hoped to beat her.

Though as he stumbled through the forest, he came upon something that must have been a godsend to Robin; a wooden cottage. No doubt used by hunters during the hunting seasons. But right now it appeared abandoned.

Robin quickly limped over to the door and tried to open it, finding it locked. _'Well, no time for subtlety' _he thought grimly before he used all his remaining strength to kick the door open.

He quickly stumbled in and closed the door as much as it could after him. Casting his eyes around the small cottage he found it to be of simple design. One large room with a fireplace, a table, chairs and kitchen equipment. a second room also existed in the cottage, serving as a small bedroom.

It was more than what Robin could have asked for.

He quickly limped over to the fireplace. Finding that there was already a good stock of wood next to it, Robin threw several logs into it and started a fire to warm himself. Sure, the smoke and the light might expose him, but right now he was out of options.

With the fire going, Robin took the time to carefully inspect his wounds. The slash he had across his chest was not so bad, it could be ignored until later. His knife and gun wound on the other hand was a more serious issue.

Bleeding had by now stopped from them, but if he did not clean them soon there was a chance they would become infected.

His ankle looked pretty swollen from the abuse it had taken, but if he rested it for a bit it should be as good as new. His shoulder was still aching from where it was dislocated, but was still usable.

So in short, there were only two wounds that needed his attention.

He slowly peeled back the makeshift bandage on his left arm, biting back the stinging pain as he tore loose a few bits of dried blood that attached the bandage to the wound. For the moment, he would have to contend with simply changing bandages.

Finding nothing else to use, Robin gave a resigned sigh as he unclasped his cape and brought it in front of him. _'It's just a piece of cloth, nothing to cry over' _the logical part of his brain tried to tell him, and although he knew that to be the case he still felt a little uncertain to do it.

Well, beggars can't be choosers, as the saying goes. With that thought, he tore up the last piece of his cape and used it as a bandage.

With that done, he slumped together in his chair, letting the fire warm his frozen body. But while his body was relaxing, his mind was not.

Raven was still out there. Probably taking shelter from the storm as well, but she was still on the loose and after his head. This was all part of her plan. She had deliberately lured Robin away from his friends, because she knew he was vulnerable on his own.

She had then made sure that he would have no means to call for aid once the trap was sprung. Now she was running around out there, armed to the teeth and both willing and able to use her arsenal.

And what did Robin have? A handful of birdarangs and a grapple gun. He did not even have his beloved bo staff. How could he turn this around?

Sure, in pure hand to hand combat he was superior, but Raven knew this as well and therefore tried to avoid it. Besides she was far superior to him in sword fighting anyway, why would she need to revert to fists?

Not only that, but as Raven had pointed out he was not in his most pristine condition. He could barely hold his own against her in unarmed combat as he was now!

Should have definitively stayed in bed today.

But as it stood right now, he would need some way to stand up to her sword. "How" did not matter to Robin right now, all that mattered was that he would not have to keep running and dodging whenever she started swinging that sword at him.

As his eyes lazily traveled across the room, he noticed something glimmering from inside the bedroom. Cautiously getting up, he slowly approached the bedroom and peered inside.

When his eyes finally landed upon the object he had seen, he really began to wonder if some higher power had decided to answer his call for aid. What lay within the bedroom was an old antiquated sword.

Covered in dust and completely dull as Robin discovered once he picked it up and ran a thumb down the blade, but it would hopefully do its job of stopping Raven's sword.

Robin swung it around a few times to test the weight of it. Unfortunately it felt a bit heavier than the type of weapons Robin preferred to use, but he would just have to improvise.

With the sword held firmly in his grip, Robin returned to his seat by the fire. He tried to stay awake, tried to stay vigil so no one could sneak up on him. But the warming heat from the fire and the rhythmic tapping on the windows from the rain was slowly lulling him to sleep.

Finally, the stress of the day proved too much and Robin fell asleep.

* * *

For how long he slept, Robin did not have the faintest clue. All he did know was that when he woke up again, there was pitch black outside and the storm had passed. The day had passed, but Robin was anything but relieved.

If anything, he preferred the light of day, where he could actually see something. The fire had by now died down to a few smoldering pieces of coal, offering a small amount of light inside the cottage.

That made Robin uncomfortable as well, since that meant that he could not see his opponent. But she could see him.

Once again, that lifesaving instinct of his screamed at him to get down, and he did just that. Right before a bullet flew through the window and passed where he used to stand. More bullets quickly followed, tearing the room apart from the high caliber shells.

Then, just as suddenly as it began, it stopped. It grew deathly quiet outside, to the point that Robin thought that she had left. An idiotic thought in hindsight.

Not long after, a bottle with a burning cloth attached to it came sailing through the broken window and smashed against the wooden floor. The highly flammable contents in the bottle immediately caught fire. More of the same bottles came flying in, and soon the entire cottage had turned into a burning wreckage.

Wasting no time, Robin gripped his sword tightly in his hands and leaped through the flames. He burst through the door and rolled around on the ground, extinguishing any flames that had caught onto his clothes.

As he stood back on his feet, he briefly turned his eyes towards the massive pyre that used to be shelter. But the sound of steel sliding out of a sheath from behind him caused him to spin around with his sword held high. Just in time to block a powerful swing from Raven.

The force behind the blow sent shockwaves up Robin's arm, but he stubbornly held on. The two became locked in a test of strength and Raven turned her attention for a moment to the sword Robin was holding.

"I see you decided to upgrade your arsenal, bird boy" she stated with a feral grin "But seriously, where did you find that rusted piece of steel? In a garage sale?"

Without warning, Raven sidestepped him, causing Robin to lose his counterbalance and stumbled forward. Before he knew it, a searing pain exploded in his side. Raven a slashed him there.

She was now behind him and thrust her sword at him. He sidestepped and knocked her sword aside. He tried hitting her with the flat side of his sword, but Raven expertly deflected it away before countering with another thrust.

Robin was forced to jump back, but was still nicked on his cheek. No time to recover had he either before Raven advanced again with a flurry of savage swings. The sheer ferocity forced Robin to back off while constantly deflecting blows.

But Raven was relentless, constantly pushing on. She never let up with her attacks, forcing Robin to remain on the defensive.

Robin finally managed to clear Raven's blade aside and thrust his own sword at her. she just smiled sinisterly as she easily sidestepped the attack, causing Robin to overextend himself and left himself wide open to receive a pommel to his stomach.

He stumbled back while doubling over, but managed to bring his word up for a parry just in time to stop a decapitation strike. Though the force behind it and the weakened state he was in threw Robin to the ground, wheezing from the earlier blow to the stomach.

"You do know that you can't beat me in sword fighting. I was the best student at swordsmanship back at the H.I.V.E. Academy, and you've never used a sword in a fight before" Raven stated smugly before she tried to impale Robin.

He managed to barely deflect the blow before kicking her away from him as he stumbled back to his feet.

With a determined gleam in his eyes, he charged at Raven again. She was right of course, she was the better swordsman here. Or rather swordswoman. But Robin was not about to throw the towel in because of that. He had beaten much larger guys in his time.

The fight continued in much the same manner from that point. No matter how hard Robin tried, Raven was always two steps ahead.

It finally ended when Robin tried to slam her legs from underneath her, but she just jumped right over it before she landed right on the blade. Her weight forced it to the ground and Robin had no choice but to let go of it if he wanted to keep his head.

Raven was instantly upon him again, thrusting her sword towards his head. He was forced to duck under it, but was caught unprepared by the fist that came at him from below and knocked him off his feet.

For a few moments, his vision refused to stay still despite his wishes. But eventually it stopped moving, allowing Robin to observe the sword tip pressed against his throat. Above him, Raven was grinning a feral grin at him.

"End of the line, bird boy" she stated as she made ready to plunge it into his throat.

But before Raven had the chance, a green starbolt impacted against her from behind. She was sent flying over Robin to land a few feet away. She groggily stumbled back to her feet while rubbing her head.

"Okay, what the hell hit me?" she asked indignantly. The answer she received was in the form of a sonic blast hitting her in the side, sending her once again sprawling to the ground.

She crawled back to her feet again, but was surprised to feel the ground shaking beneath her. Shaking from footsteps. She looked up in shock, just in time to get rammed by an elephant that sent her crashing straight into a tree.

Raven never even had time to fall to the ground this time before a crimson fist the size of herself grabbed hold of her and kept her pressed up against the tree. Quite painfully Raven might add.

Looking to where the fist originated from, Raven found the Teen Titans gathered around their fallen leader. And they looked extremely pissed.

"This ends now" Starfire stated as she powered up a pair of starbolts.

"Guys, how did you find us?" Robin asked weakly from where he still lay on the ground. Cyborg momentarily turned towards their leader.

"The smoke from the fire led us right to you. Now don't worry man, we'll take it from here" he assured him before turning his steely glare back towards Raven, who was struggling to get loose.

"Give it up Raven, we've got you outnumbered and trapped" Cyborg stated as he transformed his hand into a sonic cannon and aimed it at her.

Raven glared hatefully at the team, while on the inside she was panicking. _'Dammit, I can't fight the whole team on my own! I'd never stand a chance!" _she thought frantically.

Well, as much as she detested the thought, it seemed like now was a good time to retreat. Live to fight another day, as the saying goes.

"Sorry, tin can. I ain't planning on ending up in prison anytime soon" Raven stated before she opened up a hand she had previously held close, allowing a smoke grenade to fall out. The moment it landed on the ground, it exploded and smoke spewed out and covered the whole area.

"See ya around, Titans" they heard Raven say somewhere in the smoke. But when it cleared enough for them to see, they found that the crimson fist Argent had created was still clutching the tree. But there was no sign of Raven anywhere.

"Dammit, where did she go? Spread out and find her!" Cyborg ordered. The team was just about to do just that when Robin stopped them.

"No, let her go" he said tiredly. The Titans looked back at him in chock.

"You sure that's a wise idea?" Argent asked. Robin just nodded his head.

"Yes. We'll catch her another day. For now, let's just go home" he stated. The other Titans hesitantly nodded their heads and together they helped carry Robin back towards their ship.

* * *

Deep underground, where no light could reach, several computer screens where arranged next to each other. But what they were replaying right now would come as quite a shock to most.

They were showing all that had happened today between Robin and Raven. From the ambush in the city, to the fight on board the airplane, to the chase through the woods and finally to the sword fight right outside the burning cottage.

how in the world they had managed to record all of that, no one would ever know.

And watching this all with rapt attention, was a menacing person with one single eye. He gave single humorless chuckle.

"Truly, Raven, you've exceeded my expectations today" he mused to himself as his eye was transfixed on a single frozen image of her standing battle ready with her sword held high.

"Perhaps you will be of some more use to me after all"


	6. Chapter 6: Nevermore

**Chapter 6: Nevermore**

The plan had failed. All the preparations had failed. She had _failed._

It was unacceptable to her. Raven had gambled nearly everything on this plan to succeed. But it had not succeeded, it had gone straight down the drain instead.

Raven continued to leap across the rooftops, fuming to herself. Anger coursed through her veins, hatred boiled in her blood. It was all undone to her, she had lost. The element of surprise was no longer on her side. Next time the Teen Titans would be ready for her.

The Teen Titans, the mere thought of them caused Raven to scowl. They ruined it all for her. Oh, how she wished that she could have someone to beat up right now. Anyone would suffice. A scream from a nearby alley drew her attention.

Walking up to the edge, she peered down to see five punks encircling a young girl. Now normally Raven would never even consider playing the hero type, but she was in desperate need of a punching bag about now. And those five punks were perfect candidates.

Raven quickly jumped down, flipping from balcony to balcony, until she landed with a soft thud behind the gang.

"Why don't you big boys pick on someone your own size?" she questioned menacingly. Already she could feel rage building up inside of her. Her need to break something grew stronger with every moment.

The five punks turned around in surprise. But their surprised looks quickly turned into scowls when they saw it was not one of the local heroes.

"Get lost, girlie! This does not concern you!" one of them, the leader most likely, snarled at her. Raven just placed her hands on her hips in a challenging pose.

"You're absolutely right, this does not concern me even the slightest. However, I've had a very bad day and I'm in need of something to vent my frustration on, and you five just happened to be nearby" she stated. The five guys now began to grin lecherously at her.

"Did you hear that boys, she needs to vent her frustration" their leader said, gaining a few wicked snickers from the others as they abandoned their earlier victims "Now why don't we help her with that, eh?"

The others said nothing, but they began to surround Raven. Their eyes travelled over her form with a hungry glint in them. Internally, Raven began to wonder why they were not more cautious. Could they not see her sword and guns strapped to her form?

Three of the five assailants suddenly pulled out a wide variety of knives while the fourth retrieved a crowbar. The leader meanwhile pulled out a revolver. _'Oh, that's why'._

Deciding that waiting around was too boring for her, Raven made the first move. She rushed one of the punks, grabbed the knife-wielding arm and broke it with a quick jab to the elbow. The poor man roared in pain before a vicious jab broke his windpipe.

Raven quickly snatched the knife from his now useless arm and kicked his body away before she spun around and stabbed the knife into the knee of a second punk. She grabbed the arm still clutching a knife and sidestepped a third punk sneaking up from behind.

Before he even knew what had happened Raven had dragged the arm of the second punk forward, causing him to impale his own comrade in the gut. Raven quickly kicked both of them away from herself.

She suddenly bent backwards to avoid a wild swing from the crowbar before backing away. The man did not relent and pushed onward, swinging his crowbar like a drunken idiot in front of him in the hopes of scoring a hit.

Raven meanwhile was lazily dodging everyone one of his swings, looking thoroughly bored out her mind. But behind her, the one she had stabbed in the knee earlier had somehow managed to get back to his feet and was glaring murderously at Raven's back.

He ignored the wound he had sustained and did a feeble rush at her, hoping to skewer her from behind. Raven had however easily detected him and just sidestepped him. The one with the crowbar had not been so observant and with another wild swing, ended up crushing his partner's skull.

It seemed to take a few moments for the idiot to realize he had actually hit something this time, and another few moments until he realized it was not the one he had been aiming for. He stared at the bashed in skull of his friend, completely dumbstruck.

"Do you get extra points for team kills or something?" Raven asked innocently. This seemed to anger the man as he narrowed his eyes at her and with a savage war cry rushed her with the crowbar held high over his head.

Raven just stared impassively at the lumbering brute bearing down on her. She had truly hoped that these guys would give her some form of relief. Sadly, that was not the case, she still felt the anger swirling beneath her skin.

"Pathetic" Raven muttered as she pulled out one of her Desert Eagles and shot the man straight between the eyes.

"Now, wasn't there a fifth member as well?" she questioned. The sound of a gun being cocked behind her was all the answer she needed. Though before she could do more than widen her eyes, a bullet tore through her shoulder.

Raven for her part did nothing more than grunt in pain, but still fell to her knees while clutching her wound. She felt so stupid right now, a mere nobody had got the jump on her and actually wounded her. It was embarrassing, and that embarrassment fed her anger.

Rage bubbled up inside of her, slowly overcoming her senses. Only now did Raven realize that she was doing something she had not done in a long time; she was losing control. _'Dammit, I need to calm down. I can't lose control, not now' _she thought frantically.

If she could not reign herself in soon, there would be hell to pay. Unfortunately, the punk did not get the memo and was casually approaching her with a sadistic smirk on his lips.

"Don't come any closer" Raven hissed out in a deadly whisper, but the idiotic punk ignored her warning.

"What's the matter, girlie? Afraid of the big bad boy?" he taunted as he aimed his revolver at her head. That did it for Raven. She could no longer control herself and snapped.

With a deadly growl on her lips, she spun around to face her unfortunate victim. Her eyes, glowing redder than the fires of Hell itself, were fixated murderously upon the punk. Her cloak enveloped her whole body and she grew to the size of two full grown men.

She towered over the punk, who was now covering in terror. Black tendrils lashed out from within the dark abyss of her cloak, ensnaring its victim even as he screamed and begged for mercy.

"**What's the matter? Afraid of the dark?" **Raven taunted in a raspy and daemonic voice while smiling maliciously down upon her screaming victim. He finally grew quiet as he was dragged into the darkness of her cloak.

For how long it lasted, Raven was not certain. But once her daemon side had been sated enough, Raven was able to wrestle back control. Her eyes and body returned to normal, but the punk she had dragged into her cloak was gone.

She was left panting and leaning against the wall for support. Battling with her daemon side was always taxing to her. A soft whimpering drew Raven's attention to the girl the punks had tried to rob earlier. She had not taken the chance to run away and was now cowering in fear behind a dumpster.

"Please. Please don't hurt me! I just want to go home!" she kept whimpering in fear. At first Raven was not overly concerned, but when Raven looked into the poor girl's eyes she almost felt her heart break.

The girl was staring at her in absolute terror. Not the usual fear a human feels when facing someone who can kill you, but the type of pure horror when you stare at what you feel is terror incarnate.

It hurt Raven more than what she dared to admit. Back on Azerath, they had always taught her that she was the spawn of evil, that she was destined for nothing more than evil and cruelty. She could still feel the looks of fear she received when she used to walk down the street.

That was not how Raven wanted to be seen. If people wanted to be afraid of her, then Raven wanted them to be afraid of the deadly mercenary Raven, not the hellspawn Raven. That was not what Raven wanted to be, that was what her _father _wanted her to be.

But now, looking upon the frightened girl, Raven was once again reminded of how people would always see her first and foremost. This was why she hid her powers; this was why she wanted people to think she was at best a human, at worst a simple meta-human.

"Just leave" Raven ordered as she turned her eyes away from the girl. She could hear rapid footsteps leaving the scene in a hurry.

"_**Kill them all. Let rage consume you" **_a twisted and insidious voice whispered in her mind. Raven gritted her teeth in frustration as she tried to block the voice out.

"Not on your life" Raven snarled out in contempt as she staggered away. It seemed that with her resent loss and the anger following it, Raven's more darker side had begun to break loose again. She would need to get it under control again, and fast.

* * *

If there was one thing that upset the Teen Titans more than anything, it was seeing a friend getting hurt. As such, in just under 24 hours, Raven had managed to climb all the way up to the second worst enemy the Titans had faced, right behind Slade.

It was for that reason that Cyborg had occupied the seat in front of the computer that was normally reserved for Robin when he went into detective mode, which was almost all the time.

Since Robin was out of commission after the beating he took at the hands of Raven, it left Cyborg with the task of tracking her down and to bring her in. needless to say, it was a painstakingly slow process, considering there had not been so much as a peep from her.

She was laying low for the moment. But Cyborg had other leads to follow, namely delivery orders and possible thefts in a certain region that involved guns. The girl was obsessed with those things.

"Anything?" Beast Boy asked from where he was lounging on the couch.

"Nothing yet, but I'm closing in. I'm sure of it" he answered without turning around. The door to the living room suddenly opened and Starfire came walking in. both Cyborg and Beast Boy turned their attention to her the moment she stepped in.

"How's he doing?" Cyborg asked in concern. Starfire gave a tired sigh before answering.

"He is currently resting in the infirmary. I am sure he will make a speedy recovery" the answer seemed to bring some measure of peace to the duo. Not enough that they would not track down Raven and kick her sorry butt, mind you.

"Yeah, nothing could keep him down for long anyway" Beast Boy said jokingly. Cyborg was about to say something, but a beeping from the computer drew his attention. As he began typing away, both Beast Boy and Starfire crowded around him to get a better look.

"Dude, you got something?" Beast Boy asked in anticipation. Cyborg said nothing at first, but then his face was split in half by a huge grin.

"Bingo! I've got a location!" he burst out triumphantly.

"Glorious! We shall finally bring this vile enemy to justice!" Starfire exclaimed in happiness. She was about to fly and get the others, but Cyborg stopped her.

"Whoa, take it easy here. We should not all rush into this. For all we know this could be a trap, or Raven might not even be there in the first place. Besides, Argent is pretty busy on the other side of town" Cyborg reasoned. Starfire looked a bit skeptical.

"Then what do you suggest?" she asked curiously.

"Me and Beast Boy go in and check the place out. You stay here and look after Robin in case she decides to pay you a visit. If we find her, we'll call you guys in" Cyborg explained rationally. Starfire still did not look fully convinced, but she reluctantly nodded her head.

"Very well then. If you are certain that this is the best course of action, I shall abide by it" she said. To ease her discomfort, Cyborg flashed her a cocky smirk.

"Don't worry about us, we'll handle this in no time"

* * *

Not fifteen minutes later, we find the pair in the process of stealthily entering an abandoned apartment complex.

"Why do villains always go for the abandoned buildings?" Beast Boy asked quietly as he and Cyborg slowly crept up a staircase.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because they're abandoned?" Cyborg asked rhetorically as they reached a door on the fourth floor. They both took up positions on either side of the door and on some unspoken command, Cyborg stepped forward and kicked the door in.

Beast Boy immediately rushed in as a wolf while Cyborg stepped in with his sonic cannon leveled at the insides of the apartment.

"Freeze!" he shouted angrily, but no response came. It took the pair a second or two to realize that there was no one home. The place was crammed with weapons, explosives and ammunition. But there was no sign of Raven.

They had missed her.

"Aw man! And we were so close this time!" Cyborg cried out in irritation. Though Beast Boy was not as torn up by it as Cyborg was as he morphed back to his human form.

"Well, she's not here, c'mon" he said as he strolled into the apartment, his eyes taking in all the sights around him. It was a very rundown place, no furniture other than a couch and a table.

Of course, there were weapons all over the place, enough to arm a small gang. Not to mention enough explosives to level the whole building.

"Talk about weapon obsession" he muttered to himself.

"What are you doing? This is a botched mission, we should head back and start our search again" Cyborg stated from where he was still standing at the door, but Beast Boy paid him no heed as he had spotted something different on the table.

"But this is our chance to find out more about her" he argued back as he reached the table and picked up the item he had spotted.

"For instance, check out this beauty mirror. Who would have thought Raven spends time sprucing?" he asked in disbelief, not that you could blame him of course "Is that a zit?"

But as he inspected his face for signs of that zit in the mirror, four baleful eyes glared back at him from the mirror's depths. Beast Boy let out a terrified yelp as he dropped the mirror to the ground, just as a massive talon of black energy rose up from the mirror and grabbed Beast Boy in a crushing grip.

"C'mon B, we should really get out… Huh?" Cyborg said from the doorway, but stopped mid-sentence when he saw his friend's predicament. He immediately rushed to his aid, just as the talon began to drag Beast Boy into the mirror.

He grabbed hold of his legs and tried to pull him out, but the talon was stronger and managed to pull both of them into the mirror. The two comrades fell through a spiraling tunnel, screaming in fright all the way.

Finally, they were deposited on a floating rock in the middle of space. As they staggered back to their feet, the portal closed behind them. For a while, the two of them just stared at their new surroundings in stunned silence, then…

"I told you we should have gone back!" Beast Boy burst out. Cyborg paid him no heed and instead focused on checking his scanners.

"Uhhh… where are we?" Beast Boy finally asked as he eyed his surroundings wearily. Cyborg however could not bring a satisfying answer.

"You're asking the wrong robot. My sensors must be on the blink, 'cause they're saying we're in Jump City" Cyborg admitted in surprise. He had no idea what could be wrong with his systems.

"Riiiight…" Beast Boy dragged out sarcastically "So how do we get back?"

There were a few moments of silence after his question, until Cyborg came up with the only solution to their problem.

"Guess we start walking" he said. Beast Boy immediately rounded on him with a livid and disbelieving look in his eyes.

"Come on, I'm serious! We're on a rock in the middle of…" he never got to finish that sentence before several rocks came together to form a path for the two of them to walk on.

"Oh" was all Beast Boy could say in response before the two of them began walking.

"If sending us to Weirdsville is Raven's idea of a joke, I am so not laughing" Beast Boy commented grumpily.

"Hey, she didn't send us here. We're the ones who broke into her home and you started popping zits in her magic mirror" Cyborg argued, though internally he wondered why he was even defending her in the first place.

"Who booby-traps a mirror?" Beast Boy argued back.

"Maybe it wasn't a trap, maybe it's Raven's way home" Cyborg reasoned as he looked around the desolate world "Maybe this is where she's from"

Beast Boy gave the place a critical look over as he contemplated his words.

"Add a few hundred guns, and I think you're right. Definitively creepy enough" he commented offhandedly.

"Turn back" a childlike voice suddenly spoke up from nowhere, causing the two boys to halt in terror and spin around in rapid circles, trying to locate the speaker.

"Like I was saying" Beast Boy stated.

"Turn back" the voice from earlier repeated, though this time they managed to locate the speaker. It was a small black bird with big red eyes that was standing on top of a stone archway, along with two more of its kind.

"Turn back" it repeated yet again.

"Turn back" the one next to it repeated.

"Turn back" the last one repeated.

"Turn back" the first one repeated again.

Though by now Beast Boy was smiling widely at the birds, obviously thinking that they had stumbled upon something good here.

"Sweet, bet ya they can tell us how to get home" he reasoned as he approached them. Cyborg however was a bit more cautious concerning the birds.

"Careful. How do we know they're not a threat?" he asked cautiously. Beast Boy did not look the least bit concerned as he spun around to address Cyborg.

"Helloooo, remember me? Beast Boy? If they were dangerous, I'd know" he stated proudly. Cyborg just folded his arms over his chest while giving him a skeptical look. He was obviously not assured. Not that it stopped Beast Boy in any way.

"Hey little guys, my buddy and I were wondering if…" once again he was unable to finish his sentence as he found that the trio of birds he was talking to had disappeared from their earlier spot.

They had apparently decided to migrate to the ground right in front of Beast Boy. And they had also decided to call in some more friends as there were now dozens of them, all staring at Beast Boy.

"Turn back, turn back, turn back" the whole flock kept repeating in synch with each other. That is, until their two eyes split into four, their beaks grew longer with razor sharp teeth in them and their size expanded.

Beast Boy gave a surprised gasp at first, and then it turned into a terrified scream as he bolted from the now murderous flock of birds. He even bowled over Cyborg in his haste to get away.

In desperation, he morphed into a hippo and tried to swallow the attacking birds. All it did however was hurt his own tongue as the wicked birds bit and clawed at it inside his mouth, forcing him to spit them out.

Cyborg was faring no better however as the birds swarmed him like locusts on a field.

"Get 'em off me, get 'em off me! Cut it out!" he shouted as he tried to shield his face from the unrelenting picking the birds unleashed on him. He was forced to flee in all haste, closely followed by Beast Boy morphed as an ostrich. The birds were not far behind the pair.

But they soon managed to turn the tables as they counterattacked with Cyborg riding on Beast Boy, morphed as a llama, while wildly firing his sonic cannon.

The birds began circling the pair, trying to attack from different angles, and Cyborg just kept blasting away at everything that so much as moved.

"If this is Raven's home, I can see why she left!" Cyborg shouted out in irritation as a bird flew underneath him and Beast Boy, prompting Cyborg to attempt to score a hit on it. He did hit something, but it was not he bird.

The sonic blast cracked the pathway they were walking on and it began to crumble under their feet. The two of them had enough time to give each other a goodbye look before the ground underneath them disappeared.

Fortunately, Cyborg managed to grab hold of the edge. Unfortunately, he was left dangling over the edge while holding on to a llama. He struggled to maintain his grip, but he could feel that he was slowly losing it. Sooner or later they would both fall.

"Hey guys" a familiar voice said with unfamiliar cheerfulness. Looking to where the voice came from, Cyborg found a pair of pink boots standing upside down on the stone pathway. Letting his eyes travel further upward (or was it downward?) along the figure's body, he found Raven looking back at him.

"What's up?" she asked while waving happily to him. Cyborg could only gape at her.

"I don't know anymore" he admitted in confusion. It seemed though like this crazy world had heard his statement and decided to rectify the confusion as without warning, gravity reversed for Beast Boy and Cyborg.

So instead of plummeting into the eternal abyss below, they instead crashed headfirst into the pathway they just a second ago was dangling from. Raven just laughed at their misfortune.

Beast Boy was the first one to get back on his feet. Though the instant his eyes landed on Raven, he assumed a battle ready stance.

"Raven! I don't know what kind of sick place this is, but I'm…" but it was at that moment he became aware of a new factor concerning Raven, one that he most certainly had not expected "Why are you wearing pink?"

And it was true. Raven was not dressed in her usual blue cloak this time, instead she was wearing a pink version of it. What was more, Raven was not wearing any weapons whatsoever. Well, not anyone they could see at least. Raven just laughed even more at his question.

"'Cause it's my favorite color" she answered while smiling widely at him. Beast Boy looked dumbstruck and even dropped his fighting stance.

"It is?" he asked in confusion. It was at that point that Cyborg got up as well, and he was not so diplomatic at the moment.

"Look, I'd love to stay and talk fashion, but we're here to bring you in and you better have a way home for us!" he stated coldly as he leveled his sonic cannon at Raven, who looked completely untroubled by the threat and simply shrugged her shoulders.

"The Forbidden Door, it's the only way out" she answered while gesturing down a pathway "But you don't wanna go there, not now"

Her statement was met with deadpanned expressions from the two males.

"Uh, yeah we do" they retorted in synch. Raven just spun around while holding a finger up in the air.

"'Kay, but don't say I didn't warn you" she stated with a sing-song voice before she began running away while making plane noises.

"Hey wait a minute! Get back here! We're supposed to arrest you!" Cyborg shouted after her, being completely ignored. He could have just shot her then and there, but for some reason it felt just wrong to do it now. She was so… happy for him to shoot her in the back.

"Have you ever seen her this happy?" Cyborg questioned his friend as they ran to catch up with their supposed enemy.

"Dude, I thought she was only happy when she had a gun pressed against someone's head" Beast Boy answered grumpily.

"Still holding a grudge, I see" Cyborg commented as they passed under a stone column. Before Beast Boy could come up with a retort, they found themselves in a completely different landscape.

"Now where are we?" Cyborg asked in hopelessness. And that was a good question, for they were now surrounded by golden grass and pink trees under a shining sun. The very epitome of weirdness.

Heck, you know a world is screwed up when a strawberry suddenly floats past your face, as it just did with Cyborg.

"I think this might be where air refreshers come from" Beast Boy joked lamely. But surprisingly, someone found it amusing.

"Good one!" Raven congratulated next to him, having seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"Okay, since when do you find me funny? Weren't we supposed to be mortal enemies?" Beast Boy asked skeptically. Raven never once lost that happy smile on her face.

"So? That doesn't mean I can't find you funny, BB!" she countered before walking away laughing. Both Titans were in too much of a daze to even consider the thought of stopping her. This place was seriously messed up.

* * *

"God dammit!" Raven cursed as she threw away her half assembled Desert Eagle in anger. She had tried to use her preferred method of calming down, by tinkering with her guns. She had even moved to the roof of the apartment complex she lived in to get some peace and calm.

It had been for nothing, the daemon in her was still loose, and Raven was growing desperate now. She needed to regain control again, for there was no way customers would hire her if she turned into an unhinged killer.

There was of course the option of using the meditation techniques she had been taught by the monks of Azerath, but she detested them. They required too much restrain on her emotions, something she had grown to discard a long time ago, plus it required far too much patience.

Sure, Raven could be patient, she could be patient for hours. When she had a sniper rifle in hand and a target to eliminate. Other than that, she was more of a girl who liked things to be done quickly with little waiting around.

In other words, no meditation.

But something was feeling a little strange inside her mind. Happy had been way too much active all of a sudden. It was as if she had stumbled upon something that had triggered her. This required investigation.

Raven had already worked hard for years to suppress as much of her powers as possible in order to be able to express feelings. While it limited the amounts of her power she could call forth when needed greatly, it was a fair tradeoff in her eyes.

But still, with just enough coaxing, her powers could still explode forth if she as not careful with her emotions. Exemplified by her daemon side recently making a nasty comeback.

When Raven reached the door to her chosen apartment, she immediately tensed up when she saw it had been kicked down. She slowly drew out her other gun and edged forward towards the entrance.

Peering inside, Raven found no immediate trace of the intruders so she slowly entered, eyes constantly peeled for danger. But everything else suddenly lost importance when Raven's eyes landed on a single object lying on the floor.

Her mirror.

"Well, this can't be good" Raven commented to herself.

* * *

"Okay, where the hell did she go now?!" Beast Boy asked in irritation as he and Cyborg trudged along a path, approaching another stone archway.

"I mean seriously, she just keeps coming and going all the time! It's as if she doesn't even realize we're trying to arrest her!" he kept on rambling as they stepped under the archway, finding themselves back in a very creepily familiar space.

"Hey, I know where we are! We're in that place where I didn't know where we were before!" Cyborg burst out while throwing his arms wide out. Suddenly, Raven appeared right in front of them, scaring the shit out of the two.

But she was different again. Now she was wearing a grey cloak instead of the pink one and she had a sorrowful look on her face. But Beast Boy seemed not to either care or notice.

"Where were you? Shopping for ropes?!" he demanded angrily while staring murderously at her. To both his and Cyborg's surprise though, Raven cowered under Beast Boy's wrath and even began to cry. She looked thoroughly miserable right now.

Now, Beast Boy may be many things; a superhero, a jokester, a prankster, an idiot. But if there was one thing he was not, it was a bully. Even if she was the enemy, Beast Boy had a hard time not cracking up with guilt.

"Whoa… easy, I didn't mean it. Please don't…" his attempts at soothing her were interrupted by Cyborg as he had spotted something.

"Hey! That's that Forbidden Door, right Raven?" he asked while pointing towards a large cliff floating in space with a doorway built into it. Raven meekly nodded her head in affirmation. Cyborg was instantly off in a sprint.

"Come on y'all, we're almost…" and now Cyborg got a taste of being interrupted as a stone wall suddenly rose up right in front of him, followed by more walls all around him and his companions.

Beast Boy tried to morph into an eagle and fly over the walls but all he received for his troubles was an electric chock that forced him back to the ground, groaning in pain.

"Aw man, we gotta get out of here!" Cyborg exclaimed in a panic as he transformed his arm into a sonic cannon and began blasting the walls with all that he had. He did not even manage to scratch them.

"It's a maze. You can't get out, you have to go through" Raven spoke up for the first time meekly "I can show you the way. But when we reach the end, you won't like me anymore. Not that it really matter anyway, since you already doesn't like"

With those depressing words, she began walking deeper into the maze, leaving the two Titans befuddled over her behavior.

"Gee Raven, moody much?" Beast Boy asked sarcastically while Cyborg scratched his head in confusion.

"Yeah, she's like a whole different person" he stated.

The journey through the maze was not one of the most pleasant ones the two Titans had experienced in their lives. But there was one aspect of the whole trip that had been slowly driving them to the brink of insanity.

One aspect that made them sure that it was some form of psychological torture, meant to break the most stoic of individuals.

"… and remember the time when I threw a grenade at you, I'm sorry for that too. And also…" the damn girl would not stop apologizing for everything she had ever done! Both Beast Boy and Cyborg were close to hanging themselves, just to put a stop to this torment.

"For the hundredth millionth time…" Beast Boy began before both he and Cyborg finished together with "WE FORGIVE YOU!"

Whether they were seriously forgiving her or not was up for debate, they were probably just saying it to get her to shut up. Raven had meanwhile approached a wall and after pressing her hand to it, the wall split in two and opened up, showing the exit out of the maze.

There were two large statues standing at the entrance, each of them sporting a four eyed parody of the comedy and tragedy mask. Off in the distance, the Forbidden door was visible.

"That's the end" Raven simply said.

"Sweet!" Beast Boy burst out happily.

"Alright! Freedom at last!" Cyborg shouted enthusiastically. He was more than ready to leave this nuthouse. But as fate would have it, nothing was ever that easy. Exemplified here by the two statues coming to life and slamming into each other back to back, becoming one entity.

Two swords suddenly materialized in two of its hands and its grinning side was facing them. So now the two Titans had to battle a four armed statue at least three times their size that was wielding a pair of swords larger than themselves.

All they could do was groan over how the universe seemed to be against them. Well, at least this crazy universe.

"Told you both you wouldn't like me when we got here" were the parting words of Raven before she disappeared, leaving Beast Boy and Cyborg to fend off the monstrosity on their own.

* * *

Now, Robin had had his fair share of trips to the infirmary during his hero career. But no matter how many times he ended up in one, he never got used to them. Right now he was sulking in his bed, angry that he could even get up on his own.

He had tried, but the pain had been a real hindrance. However, it had not been the pain that had been his greatest obstacle, it had been a certain Tamarenian who had taken it upon herself to be his nurse/nanny.

He had nearly been tied to the bed when he had refused to lie still.

Speaking of Starfire, she just entered the infirmary, carrying a plate of food. Robin could not see just yet what was on the plate, but he prayed to whatever deity that would listen that it would not be Tamarenian food.

"Hey Star, where are the others?" he asked to try to distract his mind from the boredom.

"Argent just came back from stopping a bank robbery. Beast Boy and Cyborg have gone out to investigate a lead concerning Raven" Starfire answered as she set the plate down on Robin's lap.

He found to his mounting horror that it was indeed Tamarenian food on it, and it just moved. _'Dear God, why have you abandoned me in my hour of need?' _he thought in despair. Though he kept a poker face in place so as to not offend Starfire.

"Perhaps we should follow them as well, and see if they require assistance?" Starfire suddenly asked. Robin just waved her off.

"Nah, not yet at least. Those two can handle it" Robin stated with conviction.

* * *

The four armed statue approached the two menacingly while brandishing his double swords. Beast Boy took to the air as a falcon while Cyborg tried to blast the statue with his sonic cannon. Not a scratch was made.

The statue swung a sword down on Cyborg, but he sidestepped it. Beast Boy took his chance and tried to dive-bomb the statue. It merely plucked him right out of the sky with one of its massive hands.

Beast Boy was left dangling in the grip of the statue as it brought up one of its swords, making ready to cleave him in two.

"Yo, Hey guys!" Raven suddenly shouted as she came down on the statue with a karate kick right to its face. The statue went down like a falling… well statue.

Once again Raven had changed, this time she wore a green cloak. But most importantly, this time she actually carried her broadsword.

"Whoohoo! In your face!" she shouted enthusiastically before she leapt to attack again. The statue tried to cut her down with his own swords, but she skillfully evaded them all, smiling cockily the whole time.

Suddenly, she leaped high into the air, drawing her broadsword in the process. As she came down again, she cleaved the statue right in two. When the two halves collapsed to the ground, all Cyborg and Beast Boy could do was stare in disbelief.

"Hooaaa! Hive fives, c'mon!" Raven burst out while holding her hands in the air. Beast Boy looked like he was close to a mental breakdown before shaking his head and giving her an accusing glare.

"What is your deal?! First you try to kill Robin, then laugh at my jokes, then you're a weepy and now you're a marine! Make up your mind, who are you?!" he burst out in fury, clearly tired of all of these drastic changes in personality.

Though the answer was not what he was expecting, as suddenly the pink cloaked Raven and the grey cloaked Raven joined the green cloaked Raven.

"I'm Raven" the three said unanimously. It seemed that was the last straw for Beast Boy as his head spun in confusion and he collapsed to the ground. But Cyborg seemed to make more sense of the situation.

"Happy. Timid. Brave" he counted down the three Ravens standing in front of them.

"You forgot Dopey" the pink one said while pointing at Beast Boy before bursting out laughing yet again.

"Different sides of Raven's personality. We're not in Raven's home…" Cyborg realized.

"… We're in her head" Beast Boy concluded in shock. At least now things were making more sense to him.

"And I want you out" Raven suddenly stated as she landed in front of the three other Ravens, who promptly faded away. Now this was the real deal, dressed in blue cloak and armed to the teeth.

"The mirror you stumbled upon is a relic from my old home, serves as a portal into my mind" she clarified calmly to the two Titans.

"Well, now that we have that cleared up, I think it's high time we bring you in" Cyborg stated as he leveled a sonic cannon at Raven. Beast Boy seemed to take the hint and made ready for battle as well. Raven looked completely untroubled.

"While I would normally love to go a few rounds with you, I've got bigger problems to deal with at the moment" she retorted. Cyborg raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? What could possibly be more important than two Titans ready to pound you into the ground?" he asked tauntingly. His answer came in the form of a bestial roar and a massive giant appeared out of nowhere.

This giant had skin as red as fire, long hair whiter than snow and four infernal eyes. And he looked pissed.

"**Hatred shall rule!" **the daemon nearly roared.

"Let's just say that I have issues with my father" Raven answered as the three of them backed away from the monster. That did not sit well with the daemon as it unleashed a blast of energy from its eyes at the group. That got them running.

"Run for your lives!" Beast Boy shouted as he rushed towards the Forbidden Door. He was quickly followed by Cyborg and Raven. But as they neared the exit, another energy blast hit in front of them forcing them to take cover behind a pile of rocks.

Raven peered around the edge while turning the safety off on her P90. The daemon seemed to be looking for them for the moment.

"Alright. You two, get out of my mind while I deal with him" she said over her shoulder to the two Titans.

"What?" Beast Boy asked in surprise. Clearly they had not expected Raven to help them in any way. Raven turned her gaze back to the two males to give a quick explanation.

"Don't get any funny ideas here. That thing is my problem, as such my responsibility. And I don't need you idiots running around making a mess of it all" she stated icily. They never got a chance to answer before Raven sprinted out and began firing wildly at the daemon's back.

The daemon roared, not in pain but in anger, as he turned around and tried to blast Raven. She nimbly leaped clear and continued to fire while running circles around him.

Though eventually her luck ran out and she was hit by one of its blasts, knocking her out. The daemon promptly picked her up in one of its massive fists.

"**Rage shall consume you!" **it declared to the unconscious girl in its grip.

"Yo! Sounds like somebody needs a timeout" Cyborg suddenly said from behind the monster before he blasted it with his sonic cannon. The surprise attack was enough to cause it to drop Raven while stumble over the edge and plummet into the abyss.

Beast Boy quickly swooped in as a falcon and grabbed hold of the falling Raven, who was awakened by the commotion. As she was gently put down on the ground again, she looked at Beast Boy in astonishment.

"You stayed? Aren't we supposed to be enemies?" she asked in confusion as he morphed back to his human self, smiling widely at her.

"Hey, we may be enemies, but nobody deserves to left alone with such an ugly thing" he stated. Raven was still looking at him in disbelief. Had their roles been reversed, Raven had most certainly not come to their rescue, they must have known that. But still they saved her.

Heroes really are strange people.

"Yo, if you two are done over there, get your butts over here!" Cyborg shouted at them as the daemon climbed back up on the floating rock, looking absolutely livid.

"**Feel my fury!" **it shouted as it blasted away at the trio, who spread out and began attacking it from every direction. But no matter what they threw at it, they only managed to anger the daemon further.

Slowly they were being pushed back by the unrelenting fury of the daemon. Eventually they were forced to take shelter in a crater, well out of sight of the daemon. Robbed of its opponents, it began to indiscriminately blast everything around it.

"He's too strong. Even with your help, I cannot defeat him" Raven admitted while reloading her P90.

"So call for back-up! What about all those other you?!" Cyborg demanded angrily.

"Yeah, the green one kinda kicked butt!" Beast Boy piped in. Raven was still looking grim.

"It still wouldn't be enough, none of my other sides have the kind of power we need" she stated. But Beast Boy was not convinced just yet.

"Not alone, but what about together? They're all part of who you are, right?" Beast Boy reasoned. Raven gave him an inquisitive look in response, causing him to fidget nervously.

"What?" he asked when her gaze began to unnerve him.

"You actually came up with a good idea. I was under the impression that you were the idiot of the group" she answered calmly. Beast Boy looked thoroughly insulted and grumbled something about "smart-ass chicks".

"Go for it, we got your back" Cyborg stated as he and Beast Boy leaped over the edge and into the fray again.

Raven meanwhile moved to a more open spot and called forth her other emotions. Soon Raven was surrounded by dozens of different colored Ravens as they began to levitate into the air.

The emotions began to spin around in a rapid pace before all of the Ravens disappeared in a blinding flash of white light.

The two Titans meanwhile were faring less than good against the daemon. None of their attacks were doing any harm to it, and it had decided to call in some back-up of its own in the form of those pesky birds from earlier.

But the daemon stopped its attacks when it sensed that someone was behind it. Turning around, the daemon found a white cloaked Raven standing just as tall as him. Raven raised her hands and black energy shot out, binding the daemon.

"**You're going back where you belong" **she stated to the daemon, which growled back.

"**Never!" **it snarled back in contempt as it broke free from its bindings. Raven just raised her hands again an unleashed a blast of dark energy at the daemon, which unleashed a blast of red energy in response.

The two opposing forced clashed with each other, both trying to press the other one back. For a while, none of them seemed to gain an edge. But finally, with a last push of strength, Raven overpowered the daemon and blasted its form away.

Left behind in the wake, was a small red cloaked Raven with four eyes. She had time to give one last hateful glare at Raven before she disintegrated into red energy and merged with Raven. And in another blinding flash, Raven was back to her normal size and color.

She allowed herself a content smile before exhaustion caused her to fall over. But to her surprise, the two Titans stood ready to catch her.

"Easy, we got you" Cyborg said as they helped her back to her feet. As she stood on her own feet again, Raven gave them a grateful nod.

"I can't believe I'm saying this to you of all people, but… thank you" Raven begrudgingly said. Cyborg smiled cockily at that.

"Don't think you're out of the woods yet, little lady. We still have to take you in" he revealed smugly, obviously thinking she was too tired to fight back. To his confusion however, she just smiled at him.

"And how, pray tell, will you accomplish that?" she asked rhetorically. Before he could answer that, he felt himself sinking into the ground. Looking down in chock, he found that the ground they were standing had turned to quicksand. The only one unaffected was Raven.

"You forget, Cyborg, that this is my mind. And now with that nuisance dealt with, I'm in complete control again" she clarified as both Cyborg and Beast Boy were buried neck deep in the ground. She calmly strode over to them as they struggled to break free.

"I could easily kill the both of you here and now. It would save me the trouble and it would mean I would have two less enemies to contend with" Raven mused as her hand gripped the hilt of her sword. Both boys held their breaths as they awaited the deathblows to come.

"However…" Raven said as she let go of her sword "… you saved my life, so I'll spare yours"

She then crouched to eyelevel with Cyborg to stare directly into his eyes.

"But make no mistake, this is simply a one-time deal. Next time we meet, old bets are off" she stated. Cyborg grunted in affirmation.

"I wouldn't have it any other way" he answered. The last thing he saw was a fist descending towards his face, and then everything went black.

* * *

"_Argent calling Cyborg, Argent calling Cyborg. Do you read me?" _Argent's voice awakened Cyborg from his sleep. As he groggily got back up again, he found himself back in Raven's hideout, though it had been cleaned out this time.

Not too far from where he was, Beast Boy was still lying unconscious, mumbling something inaudible in his sleep.

Cyborg looked around the abandoned room in confusion, his mind going over the craziness that had transpired. _'Was it all real, or was it merely a dream?' _he thought to himself.

"_Cyborg, are you there?" _Argent called yet again over the communicator. That seemed to snap Cyborg out of his daze as he answered.

"Cyborg here" a relieved breath was released on the other end immediately after.

"_Thank God, I've been calling for fifteen minutes! We were beginning to worry that Raven had gotten to you!" _Argent said. Cyborg smiled slightly at that.

"Don't worry about us, we're fine over here" he reassured her.

"_That's good. Did you guys find any trace of Raven?" _

That was the million dollar question. What had they found here? And more importantly, was it something that should be discussed? He was quiet for several minutes before he finally responded.

"No, we found nothing"


	7. Chapter 7: Masks

**Chapter 7: Masks**

Criminals never seemed to take a vacation, nor did it always go after the most logical prizes. The criminal of the day was a guy wearing all black with a few armor plates on and he had an orange circle right in the middle of his mask (Who designed that one, anyway?).

The prize he was after on this fine day was a red chip that was hovering in the air right in the middle of the vault it was stashed in. the thief was just about to grab the chip and make a run for it, but he halted when he noticed that someone was hanging upside down right in front of him.

"Tell Slade that if he wants this, he can come get it himself!" Robin snarled out in contempt before he flipped over and kicked the thief away from the chip. As he staggered back to his feet, the light suddenly turned on, revealing that the whole Teen Titans team was arrayed against him.

Tough luck, I guess.

But Robin was forced to jump back as a yellow beam suddenly impacted where he used to stand. The beam originated from the roof, where it was currently cutting open a hole from the outside.

The moment its job was completed, more goons dressed in the same attire as the first one burst in through the hole.

One of them immediately went after Robin, and the two became locked in a fierce fist fight. The goon kicked, punched and jabbed at him, forcing him back. Robin tried to kick him, but it was blocked and the goon suddenly pulled out an energy gun and aimed it at Robin.

It fired off a yellow beam that Robin was forced to weave through. He managed to jump over it and delivered a roundhouse kick to the wielder, sending him crashing into the wall.

Starfire flew into the air to dodge a yellow beam fired from another goon. Said goon tried to jump after Starfire, but she powered up a powerful starbolt in her hands and blasted the idiot back to the ground, thoroughly knocked out.

But another of those goons just jumped right over his fallen comrade and took his place. He launched a yellow beam at a construct jutting out of the wall right above Starfire, slicing off a piece of it and bringing it down towards the unsuspecting heroine.

But Robin managed to dive in and tackle Starfire out of the way. As they landed on the ground, they found a trio of the goons aiming their weapons at them. That was about all they could do before a huge computer terminal was slammed into them from the side.

"Amazing what you can do with computers these days" Cyborg commented as he dusted his hands off before rushing into the fray again.

Argent meanwhile was having her own problems with another one of the goons. The slippery bastard kept dodging and weaving out of the way of her energy constructs. And he also kept firing off those yellow beams of his as well, forcing her to divert some of her energy to defend herself.

Finally she managed to grab him with a massive crimson hand and smashed him into the floor. Argent however did not notice a second goon coming up behind her until a fist connected with her back, sending her to the floor.

As she looked up at her soon to be executioner, Beast Boy suddenly rammed the goon as a ram (How many times has he done that now?) and smashed him into the wall. Argent took the chance to get back on her feet, and of course Beast Boy could not resist rubbing his save in.

"You owe me big time, you owe me big…" his little victory song was interrupted by another one of those damn goons suddenly appearing behind him. That guy had about just enough time to raise his weapon before a crimson fist smashed him into the ground; hard.

Beast Boy looked back in surprise to his ambusher before turning back to Argent, who was giving him a meaningful stare.

"Call it even?" he offered nervously as he blushed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Both Cyborg and Starfire meanwhile were trying to blast another one of those infernal goons, but he just kept dodging them. Finally, he flipped onto the wall and used it as a springboard to launch himself towards the chip.

He snatched it out of the air and made a run for it towards the exit. But Robin was not about to let him get away that easily and threw a birdarang after him. It hit the hand that was holding the chip and sent it flying into the air.

"Mine!" Beast Boy shouted as he jumped after it. He morphed himself into an anteater and used his tongue to catch the chip. He soon landed on the ground and glided along it until he hit the wall.

Though the moment he came to a stop, one of the goons trampled on his tongue. The pain caused him to let go of the chip, which the goon was more than happy to take in his possession.

He quickly jumped back to his remaining comrades before throwing a smoke bomb to the floor. When it cleared, they were gone. Beast Boy meanwhile was still on the floor, a pained and disgusted look on his face.

"That tasted so nasty" he commented. Hey, the guy stepped on Beast Boy's tongue with his boot, who knew where that boot had been before! Robin seemed not to care anyway.

"Titans, go!" he shouted as he rushed after the thieves. The team soon came upon a junction splitting off into six different corridors, along with a sewer gate in the center.

"Split up!" he ordered his teammates, who immediately rushed down a corridor each. Robin was about to do the same, but he stopped in suspicion. His eyes were locked onto the sewer gate. He carefully approached it, wondering if his instincts were right or not.

Finally deciding that he might as well, he entered the sewers. It proved to be a wise decision as just ahead of him, one of those goons were making a run for it. Robin narrowed his eyes in anger as he sprinted after him.

The goon soon realized that he was followed and spun around to fire off a yellow beam at Robin, which he rolled under and retaliated with a birdarang. But the goon had learned from last time and when the birdarang came close enough, he just jumped up in the air and destroyed the birdarang as it passed underneath him with another yellow beam.

Up ahead was a branch sewer line, and the thief bolted down it. Though he took the time to throw a bomb over his shoulder and detonate it, filling the tunnel with rubble and slowing Robin down.

The thief gave one last look back before he calmly walked up to the dead-end of the sewer line and used that energy gun of his to cut a hole through the wall. As it crumbled away, he found himself outside again, right in a cliff face.

But he never got far before Starfire suddenly appeared, hovering right in his way. Though of course, being the friendly and naïve girl she was, she decided to be diplomatic about the situation and avoid fighting.

"I am asking you nicely to stop running and…" unfortunately, her opponent was not so much in a negotiable mood, and had no qualms about shooting her mid-sentence. Starfire was sent plummeting towards the river beneath while the thief leaped out into the air.

A rocket system built into his boots suddenly kicked in and he was off like a missile, just as Robin reached the hole and dived out. Robin brought out two grapple guns and fired both of them off, one at Starfire and one at the thief.

The look on the thief's face when he suddenly found a rope tied around him and the weight of two teenagers attached to said rope dragging him down would have been priceless if he had not been wearing a mask.

Finding it impossible to climb any higher with the added weight, he decided to go down instead. Poor Robin and Starfire were dragged along like luggage along the river. Finally, the trip came to an end as the trio crashed into the beach.

As Starfire regained consciousness, she found that a fish had somehow entered her mouth. Needless to say, she was quick to spit it out with a disgusted look on her face.

"Now talk!" Robin snarled at the goon as he held him by the front of his shirt "Who's Slade, why does he want this chip and why are you working for… him?"

The last part came out more quietly and surprised than the rest of the sentence since he had removed the goon's mask, only to find a computer screen behind it instead of a face.

It was a robot.

Barely a second after his questions had left his mouth, the screen came to life and a one eyed man hidden in shadows appeared on screen.

"_Excellent work, Robin"_

"Slade" Robin snarled out in recognition. How typical of the coward to send robots to do his dirty work.

"_Really, I think your skills are improving" _while you would normally appreciate compliments when offered, receiving compliments from Slade always felt like being offered a cyanide capsule.

"No more games. What do you want?" Robin demanded furiously of him. If the little info you could see on the screen were anything to go by, Slade was anything but intimidated.

"_But you do lack patience. If you're really so curious about my intentions, perhaps we should meet? Face to face?" _again, receiving an invite from that man probably gave you a feeling of how a fly would feel if a spider were to invite him home.

"Tell me where you're hiding and I'll be there in a heartbeat!" Robin stated, eyes glaring furiously at the screen. If this was how he would react to simply talking to the man on a screen, then God be merciful when they actually met in real life.

"_Patience, Robin. Patience" _with those parting words, the screen went blank and the circuitry in the robot burned itself out, destroying all evidence.

"Robin?" Starfire asked in concern, but received no reply. Robin probably did not even hear her, so focused on Slade was he.

But unknown to both of them, they were being watched by a third party on top of the cliff. Peering through her binoculars, Raven had observed the whole incident, though she had been unable to hear the words being exchanged.

Internally, she was worried about the current events. _'So, Slade has decided to make his move again. It could potentially get in the way of my plans' _she thought grimly. But no matter, her only target was Robin. As long as she got him, nothing else involving Slade and the Titans concerned her.

* * *

There were many things in this world that Robin hated; criminals, psychopaths, Batman, innocents getting hurt. In barely a few months, Slade had somehow managed to climb all the way to the top of that list.

"_Robin, is that the best you can do?"_

"_Excellent work, Robin"_

"_I think your skills are improving"_

"_If you're really so curious about my intentions, perhaps we should meet? Face to face?"_

Those words echoed in Robin's mind as he stood in front of the table in his private investigation room. The walls were packed with news clips and the table was in disarray, with both Slade's gadgets and Robin's own scattered across it.

Slade, the man that Robin hated more than anything else at the moment. A scheming psychopath who continued to elude him at every turn. A mastermind who was so cloaked in shadow and mystery, that Robin had no idea what to expect from him.

"Who are you?" he asked out loud, as if he expected Slade to waltz right out of the shadows and answer him. Behind him, the door opened, but he did not turn around to address whoever had entered.

"Robin?" Starfire asked sweetly from the doorway "I am wondering if you might wish to…"

"No" Robin briskly cut her off, uncaring whether he offended her or not. Starfire looked downtrodden from his answer.

"Thanks, but I need to figure out why Slade wanted that chip" Robin explained a little more friendly. Starfire perked up at that.

"Agree, and perhaps if you were to take a break, the answer would be easier to…"

"I can't" Robin once again cut her off "You almost got hurt. Next time it could be worse. He's planning something, I have to find out what"

It was obvious that he was not going to abandon his work. Not until he had caught Slade. But Starfire was not ready to throw in the towel just yet.

"But Robin, I am sure that…"

Robin seemed to have developed a new hobby of constantly interrupting Starfire, but this time he used the tried and used "close the door right in their face" tactic. It worked like a charm, Starfire finally gave up on him as she lowered her head in defeat.

* * *

"At least I have a pretty nice view" Raven commented to herself as she sat in a chair in her newly rented apartment, with a perfect view of Titans Tower. This was her spot from which she spied on the Titans without sneaking into the tower itself.

Surrounding her were all sorts of surveillance equipment. The most regularly used was the heat sensor which she used to keep track of the Titans inside the tower. Currently it showed nearly the whole team being gathered in the living room.

And Robin was… well, he was still locked up in the same room since they got back from their last little adventure. Seriously, did that guy ever take a break?

But while the heat sensor was a very practical tool, the most useful item in her apartment was a device that was hotwired into the Titans communicator signal and allowed her to eavesdrop on talks through their communicators.

When she had managed to capture Cyborg and Beast Boy, she had not just simply let them go. No, she had taken the opportunity to plant a bug inside their communicator system, giving Raven access to it. Et voila! Now everything they said into their communicators, Raven could hear.

Raven had to admit though, surveillance was boring as hell. Hours would often pass until something were to happen. And trust me, those hours could be hugely aggravating. But fortunately, she had a wonderful way to pass the time.

"Come on, Rambo! Gun 'em all down!" Raven sheered with a mouthful of popcorn as she was watching Rambo 4 in HD. _'Best movie ever'_ she thought gleefully as on screen, Rambo began mowing down the Tatmadaw soldiers with a heavy machinegun.

Ahh, the wonders of modern technology. Whoever invented these entertainment systems must have truly been a genius worthy of recognition. God knows what Raven would have had to do otherwise during these boring reconnaissances.

But as the credits began to roll for the movie, Raven cast a quick glance at the heat sensor, counting… four heat signatures in the tower?

"Wait, what happened to the fifth?" she asked in confusion. Checking their positions across the tower, Raven found that the heat signature that was missing was the one bunkered up by itself, away from the others.

Robin.

Raven cursed herself profusely. Out of all the Titans she had to lose sight of, it had to be her main target! But where could that bastard has slipped away to?

Internally, Raven groaned. Trying to track him down would be next to impossible if he set his sights on remaining undetected. So how in the world was she supposed to track his sorry ass down now?

A thought suddenly struck her. She had a way to track him down, but she had not used it in years. Her empathic powers. She could use them to track Robin's emotions from wherever he was.

But she immediately shook her head. No way was she using it. Out of all the powers her father's blood had cursed her with, she detested that one the most. It required superb control over your own emotions, since you would be tapping into others emotions.

It always felt disgusting to Raven, being able to sense other emotions and sucking them up like a leech. Besides, not too long ago she had to contend with her daemon side. Not something she felt like repeating.

But still, this could be her chance of taking out Robin. Could she really wait around for another opportunity to present itself?

"Desperate times call for desperate measures" she mumbled to herself as she took up a lotus position. She dug deep into herself, trying to draw out that damned piece of herself she hated so much. There it was, buried deep within herself. Locked away so that Raven could experience being human.

Carefully, she let her mind brush against it, seeking to draw out the specific power she was looking for. Finally, she managed to draw it out. Raven took a deep breath in preparation.

"Showtime" she said as she let her empathic powers reach out across the city. It felt like being hit by a freight train. Thousands of emotions smashed with unrelenting force against Raven's mind. It was like a tsunami of emotions, seeking to drown Raven.

She had not used this power for years, and she was horribly out of practice. Raven was barely able to stay conscious against the barrage. Gritting her teeth from the exertion, she pushed on; swimming through this ocean of emotions in search of the one she was looking for.

Her breathing became labored, the mother of all migraines threatened to explode her head yet still she kept searching. _'Come on, you bastard! Where the hell are you?!' _she thought frantically.

Finally, her empathic touch found what she was looking for. She could faintly feel Robin somewhere in the area where the chip was. Wasting no more time, Raven withdrew back to her body and pressed her empathic powers back in the cage she had it locked up.

Sweat glistened on her forehead, and her breathing was hard and labored. Not to mention her head felt like it was about to split open any second now.

But overall, she felt good. She had done it, she actually managed to use her powers. Not that she was planning on making it a recurring event, mind you. But still, now she knew where the bird boy was. And if she hurried, she might get there before any of the other Titans could.

* * *

Her hope of getting there before the other Titans proved to be too much to hope for. They arrived at about the same time she did. But even with the four Titans on scene, there was still no trace of Robin himself.

"Now what's he doing? Hiding from his own team?" Raven asked herself in irritation. She slowly crept closer until she was within hearing range, though she was careful to remain in the shadows.

She discreetly activated her bug in their communicator system. Raven hoped that Robin would at least call the team and alert them of his whereabouts. And right she was.

"_I'm working a Slade lead on the far side of town. Sure you guys can handle this without me?"_

Raven did a double take when he revealed his location. Far side of town? Then why the hell had her empathic powers led her here then? Was it some malfunction on her part? She had been under extreme pain when she tracked him. She could have probably sensed wrong somehow.

"No problem" Cyborg answered. Raven was considering leaving now, since her target was not present, when someone suddenly came out of a ventilation shaft.

To say that he looked interesting was an understatement. The guy was bedecked in an all-black suit with a tattered black cape. He wore a skull-adorned black mask with a red x over it. Another red x was over his heart but one of its edges was drawn out over his whole upper body.

"You working for Slade, tough guy?" Cyborg questioned as he aimed his sonic cannon at this new foe.

"Red X works alone" he answered before he fired a red x from his palm. From her hiding spot, Raven observed this new player with interest. _'Red X? Never heard of him before. Must be a new guy in these areas. Still, he has some cool toys' _Raven though off-handedly.

What followed was a humiliating defeat for the Titans, as Red X skillfully countered each of their attacks before striking at their respective weaknesses. So well in fact that it made Raven suspicious. The guy was loaded with just the right toys to take out the Titans.

If Raven did not know any better, she would say that that suit was designed purely to defeat the Titans. Not that long after, the fight was over. All the Titans lay defeated and Red X simply teleported away.

As the night grew quiet again, one question reverberated through the minds of both the Teen Titans and Raven; who was that?

* * *

There were few things in life that could surprise Slade these days, given his vast criminal network. But one of those things was currently staring him right in the face from a computer screen.

"_Rumor has it you're interest in this" _the masked thief stated as he held up a red chip in his hand. Slade merely stared back impassively.

"I'm interest in many things, Mr. …?" Slade retorted, leaving the sentence unfinished as an invitation for the thief to introduce himself.

"_X. Red X" _someone had been watching way too many James Bond movies if the introduction was anything to go by.

"Hmmm… catchy. So, are you proposing a sale, or a gift?" Slade inquired, his sharp mind already analyzing everything he could about this new unknown factor.

"_A partnership" _Red X clarified _"I give you the chip, you cut me in on your plans"_

"Partnership? My my, we are ambitious. But an alliance cannot be forged from one small chip" Slade stated calmly while narrowing his eye at Red X "If you're going to win my trust, I'll require more"

I was a challenge to the thief, to see how far he would go. A challenge he was more than willing to accept.

"_Just tell me what you want"_

* * *

Red X. Who the hell was he? That was what Raven mulled over back in her apartment. He was definitively skilled in martial arts and had access to state of the art technology. The guy was some form of thief, that was for certain, but what was his motive?

He had said that he worked alone, but Raven was not so easily convinced. He went after the same chip that Slade was after. He could potentially be stealing it to sell it to Slade.

But there was also another fact that did not sit well with Raven. The way he fought, the way he moved. It looked so familiar to Raven. And the way he outmaneuvered the Titans, it was more than skill and luck that carried the day.

He knew the Teen Titans somehow. He knew exactly how they fought and how to counter them, right down to the last detail. That was not something you just picked up by watching footage. That was something you could only learn by fighting with them.

It was clear, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that Red X was at the very least a former comrade of the Teen Titans. But if that was the case, why was he fighting against them?

A beeping noise caught Raven's attention. Someone was using the Titans communicator. Shelving her thoughts concerning Red X for later, Raven activated her bug.

"… _but then I spotted Red X pulling a robbery in the tech sector" _

Okay, maybe she would not need to wait that long for answer anyway, now she had a chance to get them directly from the source.

"_I'm on it. Get here as soon as you can"_

Raven could not help but smile sadistically when Robin said it. _'Oh trust me, I will' _she thought humorlessly.

* * *

Getting to the tech sector was the easy part for Raven. Finding her target was the hard part. She was perched on a roof, overlooking a good portion of the sector. But so far, no signs of either Robin or Red X.

"Did you send me on another wild goose chase?" Raven said irritably. She still had a slight migraine from last time. Even the rest of the Titans had shown up by now. So where were the stars of the evening?

"There!" Cyborg suddenly called out while pointing towards a warehouse. And right on cue, down from the roof both Robin and Red X flipped down. X was in the lead, with Robin hot on his tail.

But Red X suddenly spun around and threw a net at Robin. He was too slow to react and became entangled.

"Robin!" Cyborg shouted in alarm and was about to rush to his aid.

"I'm fine. Get X, go!" Robin shouted back while pointing after Red X. the Titans looked hesitant at first, but eventually decided to follow his commands and gave chase after Red X down into a subway station.

Up on her rooftop, Raven almost felt like dancing in joy. Red X was no longer a concern to her, now was her chance to kill Robin. She could just shoot him, but she wanted to savor this. She drew her broadsword and quickly jumped down until she was on the ground.

"Well bird boy, I must say that this was sort of an anticlimactic end to our little chase" Raven taunted as she drew nearer to Robin, dragging the tip of her sword along the ground "I mean, you survived my ambush on you, and now you're brought low by a simple net"

She expected many forms of responses to her taunts; insults, pleas for mercy, boring speeches on how good was going to win in the end etc. she most certainly did not expect the answer she received.

"I'm fine. Get X, go!" he shouted. Raven paused in confusion at that.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"I'm fine. Get X, go!" Robin repeated. Now Raven was more than confused, she was smacked senseless. Was he not aware that he was about to die? Was that line all he could say? Unless…

Raven carefully nudged him with her sword. It went right through him as if he was air. Raven's eyes widened in chock.

"A hologram?!" she said out loud. But if this was not Robin, then were the hell was he?

Something suddenly clicked in Raven's mind. _'When I used my empathic powers, it lead me back to the tech building. Robin called and said that he was not there, but instead Red X showed up'_ Raven began to contemplate all the pieces here.

'_Red X showed a superb knowledge of all the Titans' strengths and weaknesses. And now, Robin called and informed the team that Red X was pulling a robbery here. Red X disables Robin and continues to flee, but Robin was only a hologram. Robin must have planted the hologram to fool someone, but the only one who was close enough to place the hologram in place was… Red X'_

The puzzle was finally completed in Raven's mind, and she could not help but chuckle in amusement. _'Robin my dear boy, I had no idea you could be this crafty'_

Now she knew where Robin was. And more importantly, she knew where he was going to strike next.

* * *

Someone once said "the end justifies the means". That was what Robin tried to tell himself as he approached the third chip. This was the last theft, then he would have gotten close enough to Slade to finally unravel his plans.

He briefly wondered what the other Titans would think when they found out the truth. No doubt they would be angered by his abuse of their trust. But he would live with it. As long as he caught Slade, nothing else mattered.

"Excellent work" Slade suddenly said from behind him just as he grabbed the chip. He was still wearing his Red X costume so he had to struggle with all his might not to leap at Slade when he stepped into the light. He could not give himself away now of all times.

"Honestly, I couldn't have done better myself" he congratulated him, sending shivers down Robin's spine. Yup, even when he was talking to a possible ally, he was still unnerving.

"So, do we have a deal?" Robin asked. Time to put the final nail in the coffin.

"Indeed. You and I are sooo very much alike" Slade answered, making Robin wish that he could just gag at him "It seems… only natural we should be partners"

Oh how Robin wished he could just leap at him and beat him to a bloody pulp. But alas, he still did not know what Slade hoped to accomplish, he needed that one final piece before he could strike. So, the charade had to go on.

"What are they for?" he asked as he held up the three chips in plain view "I need to know what we're planning… partner"

Speaking that last word felt like swallowing sour milk with a few cyanide capsules to boot. He would certainly enjoy beating Slade up once this was over.

"Patience. You can't expect me to trust you such sensitive information right away, can you… Robin?" Slade inquired while narrowing his eye at Robin. He had just enough time to widen his own eyes in chock before a net was fired from behind him and ensnared the chips.

The bundle flew right into the waiting hands of Slade while all the lights turned on, revealing dozens of Sladebots surrounding him.

It's a trap!

Well, Robin was not about to go down without a fight at least. Besides, he had failed to figure out his plan, but if he stopped Slade here and now, it would not matter anyway. After all, a plan was useless if its mastermind was beaten and locked behind bars.

The two sides were about to engage one another when the roof exploded.

"Titans, go!" Cyborg shouted as he along with Argent and Beast Boy descended on the robots with a vengeance. Robin took his chance to go after Slade, intent on finishing this once and for all. But Cyborg had other ideas as he came up behind Robin and grabbed hold of his cape.

"Gotcha!" he shouted. Slade took the chance to slip away. Obviously, that did not sit well with Robin.

"Let go! Stop him!" Robin snarled while pointing after Slade. It was at that point that Starfire joined the fray.

"No, release him! He is…" Starfire began but, in honor of his new hobby, was interrupted by Robin.

"Me!" he shouted as he ripped the mask off. The whole team was left flabbergasted by this revelation, but Robin seemed not to care as he tore himself loose from Cyborg's grip.

"Slade's getting away! Come on!" he shouted before he sprinted after Slade, jumping over a few robots blocking his way. The Titans found themselves unable to follow as they were surrounded by robots.

* * *

This was just too good to be true. Slade had just burst forth from within the building and Robin was not far behind him; all on his own. Someone must have started to take pity on Raven, as she now had a golden opportunity to finish this.

She was currently crouching on top of a building on the other side of the street with an M82 semi-automatic sniper rifle loaded with .50 caliber rounds. One thing was for certain, Robin would not be getting up again after a hit from this baby.

Raven watched the chase through her scope as they jumped from rooftop to rooftop, always being careful to keep Robin within her line of fire.

Finally, the chase came to an end next to a huge red neon lighted sign. Robin was absolutely livid as this point, but Slade was the very epitome of calmness.

"Careful, I wouldn't want you getting hurt" Slade taunted, further angering Robin.

"I'm not the one who's going to get hurt, now hand them over!" he snarled back as they began to circle one another.

"Robin, I thought we had a deal" Slade said in a mock hurt tone.

"Sorry, I have a strict rule against giving stolen technology to psychos" Robin retorted coldly.

"How very noble of you. But stealing in order to trap me? That wasn't so noble. Two wrongs don't make a right" Slade stated just as coldly. It seemed that Slade's words had a greater impact on Robin than vice versa.

"Don't ever lecture me!" Robin snarled back in anger "Whatever you're planning, Slade, it's over!"

"On the contrary, Robin. It's just begun" Slade revealed just before he rushed in to attacks. He tried a punch, but Robin somersaulted over him and tried a kick.

Slade ducked under it and delivered his own kick that Robin flipped back to avoid. Robin tried several swings, but Slade dodged them all before he threw a fist at Robin. He sidestepped the blow and tried a kick from behind.

But Slade blocked it and kicked Robin in the back, sending him sprawling to the ground. He was quickly back up on his feet and made ready to dive into the fray yet again.

But Raven had other ideas as now Robin had presented her with his back. She took careful aim at where his chest was. Raven did not need to score a headshot here, one hit and it would be all over for him.

"See ya, bird boy" Raven said with a wicked grin as she pulled the trigger. The bullet soared out of the barrel and raced towards the unsuspecting Robin. He was too preoccupied with Slade, he would never see the danger in time.

A mere second away from impact and Robin had still not moved. Then, Slade grabbed hold of him and threw him clear of the shot. It impacted against the roof instead.

For a few seconds, all Raven could do was blink owlishly. Had Slade just saved Robin? Why would he do that? Her confusion soon turned to anger and she swiveled her gun until Robin was in her sight again.

"Dodge this!" she snarled out in anger as she let loose with the semi-automatic system. But this time, Robin was ready and managed to take cover just in time before he would have been shredded by the barrage of high caliber bullets coming his way.

Raven growled as her clip ran dry. She was about to reach for a second when she heard the unmistakable sound of a rocket soaring through the air. Looking up, she found a rocket heading straight towards her, originating from Slade.

"That son of a…!" Raven cursed as she abandoned her weapon and ran for her life. Barely a few seconds later the rocket impacted against her old position. Raven was sent flying over the edge from the blast wave, but managed to grab hold of the edge. She was left once again dangling over an edge.

"Slade, you're sooo dead when I get my hands on you" she muttered to herself.

Robin was meanwhile staring at Slade in disbelief. Had it just happened, or was it another trick of his?

"You… saved me?" he asked on confusion. Slade merely narrowed his eye at him.

"I'm not through with you" he simply stated. That was all the explanation Robin needed before he sent a flying kick at him. Slade blocked it and Robin tried sweeping his legs from underneath, forcing him to jump back.

But Robin pushed on and tried a punch that was sidestepped. Without warning, Robin somersaulted right over Slade and before he could counter, Robin had scored a blow to his stomach.

Slade was sent flying to the ground while the chips fell out of his belt. Robin promptly strode over to the downed Slade.

"This ends now!" he snarled as he ripped the mask off Slade's face. But the only thing underneath it was a computer screen that quickly turned on, revealing the real Slade standing smugly in his lair. Far away from the actual fight.

"_Patience, Robin. We'll meet face to face some other time" _Slade stated calmly _"Oh, and speaking of time"_

Suddenly, a countdown appeared on screen counting down from five seconds. Robin barely managed to leap clear before the inbuilt bomb detonated.

* * *

The end justifies the means. It may feel like a good comforter when you have reached your end. But when you have fallen short just like Robin has now, those are only empty words. Today, the only comfort he had was Slade's mask, which he held in his hands.

In light of his failure, he had barricaded himself inside his study to brood on this fiasco. Not that it had stopped the Titans from barging in one after the other to give him a piece of their minds.

He could not blame them.

He abused their trust in him, there were no other words to explain it. They trusted him to lead them, and he used them to create the image of a ruthless thief. He was actually surprised he was still welcomed on the team.

The door suddenly opened, but Robin did not turn to acknowledge whoever had entered. He did not need to, there was only one Titan left that had not spoken to him yet.

"You want to yell at me too? Everyone else has" Robin said tiredly to Starfire as she walked inside "And I can't blame them"

"I do not wish to yell, merely to understand. Robin, why did you not tell us the truth?" she asked in confusion.

"I needed to fool Slade. If you guys knew it was me under that mask, you would have held back" Robin explained, momentarily turning his eyes away from the mask to look at Starfire before he turned back to it "Doesn't matter anyway. Slade figured it out, and I still haven't figured out anything about him"

"That is not true. Whoever Slade is, you and he are… similar. Slade did not trust you, and you did not trust us" Starfire revealed to him before she walked out. Robin may not have shown it on the outside. But on the inside, those words have hurt more than you could ever imagine.

As he looked upon the mask, he could not help himself but ask this one question; was this what he was slowly becoming?


	8. Chapter 8: Mad Mod

**Chapter 8: Mad Mod**

A startled gasp was the first thing that escaped Robin's lips as he regained consciousness. What he immediately noticed was the chair he was securely strapped to and he immediately began tearing at his bindings. Of course, they did not budge the slightest. _'Dammit, what is this? What happened?' _he asked himself.

Weak groans alerted Robin that he was not the only one trapped here. Casting his eyes to his left, he found his entire team strapped to similar chairs as him, though with different restraints for each of them. The moment they became aware of their bindings, they too tried to break free.

They had about the same luck as Robin.

This did not look good; they were all restrained in an unknown location, facing an unknown enemy this time around and none of his teammates' powers seemed to work. This could not possible get any worse than it already was in Robin's eyes.

"Okay, what the hell is going on here?!" scratch that, it could apparently get worse. Robin turned his head to his right, where the highly aggravated voice originated from, to find the last thing he expected.

"Raven?!" he burst out in surprise, and could you blame him? He was currently sitting next to Raven, someone who had tried to kill him in the past, who was strapped into the same type of chair as the rest of them were. Though for some reason she still carried her weapons.

Upon hearing his voice, Raven turned towards him before her confused look melted into one of chock and irritation.

"Great, what did you guys drag me into this time?" she asked irritably. Not that you could blame her anger. She had been contacted by a client that had promised a really nice pay check. But what does she get when she reaches the agreed upon spot? Freaking knock-out gas to the face!

She was seriously going to skin the culprit once she got her hands on him.

Robin looked like he wanted to retort to her, but Beast Boy saw a much better question to ask in this predicament.

"Am I the only one who has no idea where we are?" he asked in confusion. His answer came sooner than expected.

"Why, you're right where you belong, my duckies." a very distinguishably British voice announced, originating from a man standing at the top of a stair right in front of them. "You're in school!"

The so far unidentified man then proceeded to jump up on one of the railings and surf down it to land right in front of the Titans… and a very pissed off mercenary.

Now that he was in front of them, they could see him much clearer. He was a middle-aged man wearing white pants and a shirt colored like the British flag. The guy had red hair along with a pair of glasses and topping off his look was a cane in his hands.

"That's right, lads and lovies, you're the only students at Mad Mod's institute for bratty teenage do gooders." the newly named Mad Mod announced before he held his cane forward while electricity danced from the ruby at its top. "And it's high time someone taught you sprogs a lesson."

Things did most certainly not look good for the Titans, plus Raven, this time. And as they struggled to break free, Mad Mod was calmly waltzing closer towards them.

"Titans, move!" Robin shouted in alarm. The team tried to follow through with his order, but were unable.

"I ain't one of your Titans, bird boy, but I'm not sitting still for this." Raven stated sarcastically as she herself tried to break free, with the same result as the rest. Robin meanwhile chose to ignore her for now. He had bigger concerns right now.

"My starbolts are useless!" Starfire cried out in surprise, just as Mad Mod walked up to her.

"Specially designed chairs, love. Can't have those nasty superpowers disrupting my lection, now can I?" he asked rhetorically as he leaned in uncomfortably close to her face.

"Get away from her!" Robin snarled out in anger, causing Mad Mod to turn his attention to him. He thrust his cane into Robin's face as more electricity sparkled from it.

"Now don't get your nickers in a twist, my little snot." he said before he withdrew from Robin. "I didn't go through all the trouble of building this school, setting up a fake contract with Raven and filling you Titans' tower with knock-out gas just to finish you off licking the splits."

"Then what is it you want?" Argent asked in irritation.

"Just what I said, dearie, to teach you lot a lesson." he stated as he once again got _very_ close up to her face before turning around and scratching his ass (Random, right?). "Yes, I've been watching you children misbehave. And I hate misbehaving children."

With that said he suddenly pointed towards a collection of pictures showing a few of the Titans escapades.

"Fighting crime. Saving lives. Interfering with the plans of hardworking villains. Why, you lot are nothing but a bunch of troublemakers! But you'll learn your place soon enough." Mad Mod announced as he pointed his cane at each of his captives in turn, receiving a fair share of heated glares.

"You see, I'm older than you. So I'm bigger, badder and better." he stated smugly. Cyborg did not look happy from that statement, and he chose to voice his opinion.

"Say wha… OW!" that last bit came out after a very nasty hit to the back of his head from Mad Mod's cane.

"You're in my world now, and you won't be getting out 'til you've learned some proper respect." he stated. Raven meanwhile felt there was a small matter that needed to be addressed.

"If those are the criteria for being a misbehaving child, then what am I doing here? In case you haven't got the memo, I'm a freelancing mercenary and a general bad guy. Hell, I've tried to waste bird boy over here… _twice_!" she stated irritable. Robin was looking at her in confusion.

"Twice? When did you…? Wait, you were that sniper on the rooftop!" he burst out in anger while Raven gave him a flat look.

"Well duh! Who else uses guns in this town against you? Mumbo Jumbo?" she asked sarcastically. Robin stared at her with a murderous look in his eyes.

"If it wasn't for your intervention I would have beaten Slade faster!" he accused angrily. Raven merely scoffed at him.

"Please, it was a mere robot you beat. And besides, if Slade hadn't interfered you would be in your grave by now!" she retorted just as heatedly.

"Why did you even do it in the first place?!" Robin shouted back. By now, all the others (including Mad Mod) were staring at the bickering pair with dumbfound expressions. _'We're in the middle of a prisoner situation, and those two are arguing like an old couple.' _was the unanimous thought circling through each of their minds.

"Geeze, why would a hired gun try to kill someone? Could it be that someone paid me to do it?" she asked just as sarcastically as before.

"And that's all there is to you, money!" Robin snarled at her.

"Well at least I'm doing something productive that provides me with an income, Mr. Traffic Light!" Raven snarled right back.

"And what you do hurt others!" Robin countered.

"Kill or be killed, bird boy. It's that simple." by now it appeared that the two teens had completely forgotten their current predicament and were devoting all their time and energy to this little argument.

"It's never that simple!"

"Says who?"

"Says I!"

"And since when did your words hold any relevance?"

"Since I'm the leader of the Teen Titans!"

"Do I look like a Titan to you, idiot?!"

"Does it really matter?!"

"Sure as hell matters to me, bird boy!"

"Don't call me that!"

"Why? Don't like it?"

"No!"

"Well, get used to it, bird boy!"

"Oh, I'm so going to beat you up when I get out!"

"I'd love to see you try!"

"Yeah, well how would you like to… OUCH!" the argument seemed to go on forever, so Mad Mod decided to interfere by hitting both teens on the back of their heads, receiving a pair of synchronized and highly aggravated "HEY!".

"Quiet you lot! You can sort out your fight _after_ class!" Mad Mod stated before turning his full attention to Raven. "And as for your question, dearie. You may not be the same sort of troublemaker as the rest of these children, but you still apparently have trouble with authority."

Raven narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. _'Just what the hell is he talking about?' _she thought. Mad Mod just smiled at her.

"Don't think I don't know about how you were expelled from H.I.V.E. Academy. Now I don't know why you were expelled, and frankly I don't care. The fact that you even were expelled in the first place shows that you're in need of disciplining." he stated smugly.

There were few things in life that could really aggravate Raven, having spent so many years learning how to _not _react in any way. Unfortunately, having an idiot go blabbering about her personal business in front of other people was a big no no in her books.

It was settled to her; this guy was so dead once she got loose.

"Dude, you got kicked out of the H.I.V.E.?" Beast Boy asked amusedly as he sniggered to himself. Raven felt like strangling the little grass stain.

"Just shut up." she mumbled out, only causing him to snigger more. Robin meanwhile seemed to ignore all of that altogether and had his entire focus on Mad Mod.

"We will get out, and when we do…" he never got further as a bell suddenly rang.

"Oh dear, there's the bell, my duckies. Off to class." Mad Mod said amusedly as the floor beneath each of his captives opened up and they fell into whatever twisted class this nutjob had cooked up for them.

"I'm so gonna get you for this, Mad Mod!" Raven had enough time to shout out before she too fell into the hell that every student endures on a daily basis.

When Raven's chair finally made contact with solid floor again, she found herself in a room filled with books and artifacts from ancient eras along with a few marble statues modeled after Mad Mod himself.

"Let me guess; history class?" Raven questioned rhetorically. In response, the light dimmed and an old movie projector that looked like it had come right out of the forties started up. Guess what it was projecting.

Mad Mod.

"Right you are, dearie." the Mad Mod on tape answered her (Man, he's good). Raven merely glared daggers at him, wishing now more than ever that she had heat vision. She sure knew who she would have been using it on right now.

"You've made the biggest mistake of your life here. Unlike those pesky Titans, I don't mind getting blood on my hands that much." she snarled at him. Mad Mod merely shook his head like a disappointed teacher.

"Now now, dearie, no need to overreact like that. This is for your own good after all." Mad Mod explained calmly. Something definitively snapped inside Raven the moment she heard those words.

For your own good. For your own good. For your own good. The four words she hated more than anything. The answer she had always been forced to accept as the truth for more than fifteen years of her life. Words that were used to justify her imprisonment in her old home.

Lies they had cooked up just because they were too high and mighty to admit that they were scared of her, of what she might become.

"How dare you?! How dare you to presume what's for my own good?! You have no right to decide! No one tells me what's for my own good! DO YOU HEAR ME?! NO ONE!" if anyone had told Raven's old friends back at H.I.V.E. Academy that Raven could throw such a temper tantrum, they would have rolled over laughing.

Though Mad Mod on the other hand found nothing to laugh over in this matter.

"That's exactly the attitude that has landed you here. But no worry, one of my hypno-screens should solve that problem in no time." and with that, the projection of Mad Mod turned into a hypno-screen, spinning wildly.

"Dammit!" Raven cursed as she tried to look away, not liking the idea of getting brainwashed. Of course, Mad Mod would not allow such a thing as mechanical arms came out of the chair and grabbed Raven's head. She was forced to look back at the screen despite her struggles.

Raven tried to shut her eyes closed, but the damned hands merely pried her eyelids open. _'Stay focused, stay focused, stay focused.' _Raven desperately repeated as a mantra in her head, fighting the mind control for all it was worth. She most certainly was not planning on ending up as a vegetable for this idiot's amusement.

But it was slowly proving futile as Raven's defenses were slowly crumbling away. With each passing second, Raven could almost feel her control and sanity slip away from her grasp. She had time to give one final mental curse before blissful darkness enveloped her mind.

But what Mad Mod had not anticipated was that with Raven's mind practically turned to mush, all her mental controls and restrictions were gone. And with those out of the way, there was nothing left to keep her supernatural powers contained within the deepest recesses of her soul.

Now finally free for the first time in years, Raven's powers felt like they had a hell of a lot of destruction to catch up with. Starting with this pesky prison their unfortunate wielder was trapped in.

Before Mad Mod could even grasp what had gone wrong, dark energy literally exploded forth from Raven, wrecking the whole classroom. For a few precious moments, it was as if God had decided to switch off all light. But then the darkness retreated back into its wielder, feeling it had been satisfied enough.

With shaky breaths, Raven's senses returned to her as the hypnosis was broken, along with her restraints. She carefully stood back on her feet, grateful of finally being loose again.

"Oi, what just happened?! You're not supposed to have any superpowers!" Mad Mod demanded, sounding absolutely livid. Raven could not help herself here, and smiled mischievously.

"Let's just say that I'm full of surprises." she said as she began to draw her broadsword. "And allow me to point out your stupidity here of letting me keep my weapons, 'cause now I'm going to carve you up like a beef."

"Oh, I assure you, it was not idiocy that made me let you keep your weapons. It was simply the fact that they'll do you no good here." As if to emphasize his point, several holes in the walls opened up and marble statues of Mad Mod rolled out, carrying a wide array of nasty weaponry.

Raven however was not looking that much impressed by her opponents.

"Marble statues? That's the best you can throw at me?" Raven questioned before she leaped forward to avoid an energy blast from one of the statues. As she landed in front of the statues, she made one fluid swing of her sword. Three of the statues promptly fell together as they were bisected.

"Frankly, I'm insulted that you think that they would even stand a chance against me." She sneered as she pulled out one of her guns and fired three rapid headshots into the remaining statues.

"Who said that they were meant to beat you?" Mad Mod asked rhetorically as the wall split open and a missile poked out, aimed straight at Raven.

Raven meanwhile felt that there was only one thought that could sum up how she felt about now. _'I just had to say something'_.

"Now then, count along with Moddy. Five…" Raven frantically looked around for an exit.

"Four…" she soon spotted a door that was blocked off by a trio of Mad Mod statues.

"Three…" the statues opened fire with eye lasers, but Raven dodged them before lobbing a grenade at them.

"Two…" the grenade exploded and Raven literally dived through the smoke towards the door.

"One." Raven threw the door open as she heard the missile firing up behind her. The moment she stepped outside, she slammed the door shut. Seconds later she felt something explode on the other side, though thankfully the door held.

"I always did manage to blow things out of proportion" Raven commented to herself as she dusted off some nonexistent dirt from her sleeves. Casting her eyes around her new surroundings, she found herself standing in a corridor whose floor, walls and roof was made of black and white squares.

"Now then, where is that pesky little Brit?" she asked herself as she looked thoughtfully down each path, wondering where to go.

"Looking for me?" Mad Mod suddenly asked from the opposite direction Raven was looking at. Turning around, she found that the annoying little pest had changed into a black suit.

"Don't waste your time, dearie. When the student is ready, the teacher is never far away." he stated smugly. Raven merely pointed her sword at him.

"If that's the case, I hope you don't mind if I teach you a bit about sword fighting and its effect on the human anatomy." she said as she rushed him, intent on skewering him. Though it seemed Mad Mod did indeed mind as he hastily turned tail and ran.

For how long Raven was forced to chase after that nutjob, she was not certain. But finally she saw a dead end ahead of them. Raven smiled victoriously, he was trapped now.

"Nowhere left to run now!" she shouted after him. But then he did something Raven most certainly had not expected; he dived straight through a black square on the wall. When Raven reached it, she could only stare mouth agape.

She tried putting a hand on it, but it was solid again. No hole.

"How did he…?" unfortunately, what Raven had not realized was that she was standing right on top of another black square. And without warning, Raven suddenly found that the earlier solid ground had become a hole as she plummeted down, screaming like a girl. Not something she did very often, mind you.

Her fall did not last very long, and she soon landed inside an exact copy of the hall she just fell from. Though thankfully she was ready and nimbly landed on her feet.

"What the hell happened?" Raven asked herself as she steadied herself. This place was just freaky to her. A whistle made her aware that Mad Mod was here as well. But wait a minute, was he standing…

"How the hell can you stand upside down on the roof?" Raven asked in confusion. Mad Mod merely smiled at her confusion.

"What makes you so sure that I'm the one upside down?" he asked amusedly. Raven had enough time to open her mouth before gravity reversed for her and she fell face first to the floor (or was it roof?).

Mad Mod merely jumped right over and sprinted down the corridor.

"I'm gonna kill him in the most slow and painful way possible." Raven grumbled as she got back on her feet and rushed after him.

After a near endless chase through the most bizarre and freakish school Raven had ever had the misfortune of attending, Raven finally found herself back in the same room she had woken up in. And standing at the top of the stairs, looking as smug as ever, was Mad Mod.

"You may as well chuck in the sponge, lassie, you can't catch the likes of me!" he stated while twirling his cane. But to his confusion, Raven merely smirked at him.

"I don't need to catch you, dumbass, I just need you to stand still for a second." That was all she said before she made her move. It happened too fast for Mad Mod, one second Raven was just standing there and the next she suddenly had a pair of Desert Eagles in her hands and aimed at him.

Without missing a beat, Raven let loose with a barrage of bullets at her victim. But when her clips ran dry, Mad Mod was still standing and vanished through a door behind him. The idea of following him did not even occur to Raven, she just stared in surprise at where he used to stand. _'Okay, what just happened? I could have sworn I scored at least a dozen hits on him.' _

Nevertheless, that crazy Brit was Raven's ticket out of this nuthouse, and she was not about to let it get away that easily. So with that in mind, she sprinted up the stairs, reloading her guns along the way. And as she reached the door, she kicked it in and rushed in with guns held high. However, she did not find Mad Mod on the other side. Instead she had barged right into…

"… The same freakish room I just left?" Raven burst out in shock. Cautiously, she peered over her shoulder at the door she just entered. Yup, the room was still there. Raven could not help herself and she groaned in dismay.

"Is there no end to this cuckoo nest?"

Suddenly, she heard a door opening somewhere, accompanied by approaching footsteps. She instantly tensed up in preparation. _'Mad Mod.' _she thought. Raven quickly took cover behind the stairs, hoping to catch him by surprise and deliver and fast killing blow.

She could hear him draw ever nearer, just a few feet away now. The footsteps came even closer, a shadow was now visible. _'Just a little closer.'_ One final step, and a foot was now in Raven's line of sight.

"Gotcha!" she burst out and with the speed of a striking viper rose and grabbed hold of her victim before spinning around and slamming him hard against the wall, somewhere along the way withdrawing a gun and pressing it against the underside of his head.

But it was only now that Raven actually noticed a few anomalies concerning her expected prisoner. For one, his hair was black instead of red. Furthermore, he was wearing a ridiculous traffic light themed costume instead of a black suit. But most importantly; he was wearing a domino mask.

Though as Raven came to the realization that she had caught the wrong enemy, she became aware of a starbolt, a sonic cannon and a crimson fist being aimed at her back.

"The Teen Titans. Should I be relieved or worried that I've stumbled upon you here?" Raven asked dryly, sounding completely untroubled by the fact she had three very angry Titans pointing their attacks at her. From his position against the wall, Robin glared at her.

"Give up, Raven. We have you trapped here." he stated confidently. Raven merely scoffed at him.

"Says the idiot with a gun pressed to his head." She countered sarcastically. A groan of irritation suddenly came from Cyborg.

"Come on, Rob. We don't have time for a Mexican standoff here. We're all still trapped in Mad Mod's crazy house" he said in irritation. Raven never turned her attention from Robin, but Robin himself took the time to look over her shoulder straight at Cyborg.

"What do you suggest then?" he asked, perhaps a little harsher than he had intended.

"I suggest a truce" Cyborg simply said. At first, no sound was made by anyone. Then…

"WHAAAAT?!" that originated from both Raven and Robin at the same time, both temporarily forgetting about each other and turning their eyes at Cyborg. The man in question was quick to raise his hands in a non-threatening gesture.

"Not a permanent, just until we're out of here." he reassured them. Both Raven and Robin were fuming at the thought of cooperating, and could you really blame them? Raven had already tried to kill him twice. And Robin was the reason she had been kicked out of H.I.V.E. Academy.

But while Raven detested the thought of working together with her target, she was also pragmatic. She was alone here, with supplies running low and no idea how to get out. Teaming up with fellow prisoners would increase her chances of escape. Safety in numbers after all. And if nothing else, Raven would then have someone to trip while she slipped away.

The way it stood right now, sticking with the Titans was her best bet if she wanted to get out, no matter how much of a painful blow it was to her pride.

"Fine, I can accept this truce." Raven grudgingly conceded. What kind of cruelty had she done in a past life to warrant this kind of punishment? Then again, considering what kind of future that awaited her, Raven guessed that the universe was letting her off easy on this one.

Still, this was anything but enjoyable. Mad Mod was in so much trouble now, not that he was beforehand. But there was still one person who felt like objecting.

"Absolutely not! There's no way we'll ever work with scum like her!" do I even need to write who that was?

"Come on Rob, be reasonable. Sure, I don't like the idea of working with her anymore than you do, but we're all in the same boat here. And if we're to get out alive and sane, we need to work together" Cyborg explained, trying to be the voice of reason. Robin just kept glaring at him, not budging so much as an inch. Raven gave a tired sigh.

"Alright, listen here bird boy. I detest the very thought of cooperating with you, but the tin can is right here." Raven began, ignoring the indignant "Hey!" she received from behind her. "We live united, or die divided."

Raven could not believe that she had said such a cheesy line, but it must have done some good as Robin now at least looked a bit thoughtful.

"How can we trust you?" he asked suspiciously, but Raven was sure that he had already accepted the idea. He was just setting up ground rules.

"You can trust me until we're out of this place. After that…" Raven left the sentence hanging, letting him fill in the blanks. He slowly nodded his head and Raven took that as a silent cue to let go. As she released him from her grip and holstered her gun, she heard the other Titans powering down their attacks as well.

"Very well, we'll have a truce for the moment." Robin declared before he got right up in Raven's face. "But this doesn't change anything. The instant we've dealt with Mad Mod, you're next."

His attempt to intimidate her just splashed against her like water on rocks, and Raven even smirked cockily at him.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, bird boy." she said, causing Robin to grit his teeth from the nickname. But as Raven finally turned round to face the remaining Titans, she only counted three of them.

"Shouldn't there be five of you? Where's that green buffoon?" she asked. Before a verbal answer could be given, a more physical answer crawled passed their feet like a worm, drooling like a dog and making noises that resembled a seal.

For once, Raven was at a wit's end here.

"Mad Mod's hypno-screen." Robin clarified. "We can't snap him out of it, we've tried everything."

"Did you try making him laugh?" Raven merely asked. Four surprised pair of eyes were soon locked upon her. And Raven did not like it very much.

"What?" she asked irritably. Robin was the first to snap out of his stupor.

"Actually… we never tried that." he admitted sheepishly. Argent merely gave a huff of irritation.

"Great, now does anyone know how to make him laugh? The guy's got the strangest kind of humor I've ever seen." She deadpanned, causing Cyborg to smirk confidently at her.

"No problem." He said before he bent down and grabbed Beast Boy's ear. Before anyone could ask what he was doing, he let out the loudest burp he could muster straight into his ear. And as if by magic, Beast Boy snapped out of his trance and laughed as if he had just heard the joke of the century.

"Nice one!" he complimented as Cyborg smiled happily at his accomplishments while all the others were staring at the pair with a mixture of surprise and disgust. _'Maybe teaming up with these morons was a bad idea after all.' _Raven thought.

It seemed to take a moment before Beast Boy became more aware of his surroundings.

"Uhhh… how did I get and why am I covered in… RAVEN?!" that last part probably came out a little wrong, but hey, he had just spotted a notorious mercenary just a few feet from himself, anyone would freak out like that.

"Easy, Beast Boy, Raven's on our side here." Robin reassured, though whether he was trying to reassure Beast Boy or himself was up for debate.

"Really?" Beast Boy asked suspiciously while directing a glare at Raven, who for her part merely smiled at him.

"Don't worry, elf, I've agreed to play nice. For now at least." She said teasingly. Beast Boy just glowered at her for the nickname.

"Wonderful!" Starfire suddenly burst out. "Now we need only to locate an exit."

The sound of a sonic cannon powering up followed her statement.

"Or just keep blasting until we make one." Cyborg offered eagerly. Clearly he was in quite a hurry to get out of this crazy house.

"Easy, last thing I smashed tried to smash me back. I'm sure this whole place is booby-trapped" Robin stated as he glanced around suspiciously, as if he was expecting a trap to be sprung at any second.

"Then how are we supposed to get out?" Beast Boy asked.

"We're not." that depressing answer came from Argent "Don't you get it? Mad Mod's just going to keep messing with us until…"

"We mess with him!" Robin interrupted her. "That cane of his controls everything in here. We get the cane…"

"… We take control." Cyborg continued.

"… And take him down." Beast Boy finished eagerly.

"What do you know? You guys actually came up with a reasonable plan." Raven commented but was ignored for the sake of their truce. It would only make it more satisfying to bring her down later.

"Oh I'll find him! That demented dude is never hypnotizing me again!" Beast Boy declared as he began advancing towards a door, right before a hypno-screen popped out of the wall and put him in a similar drooling state as he was in before. He fell right into Starfire's arms, out as a candle.

It was at that point that Mad Mod himself decided to make his appearance as he floated up from a black square, twirling his cane along the way.

"Come on, will you lot ever learn? You're in my world, my duckies! You can't win." He taunted before the door behind him opened at he sprinted away.

"Titans, go!" Robin shouted before rushing after Mad Mod, the Titans following closely behind. Left behind in their wake was Raven, who began wondering if maybe she would after all have greater chances of success if she went alone.

"Oh well, might as well." She finally said before she sprinted to catch up with the Titans.

What followed after that was a grueling and comical chase that seemed to fit more into a Saturday morning cartoon.

First they chased Mad Mod through a hallways filled with pictures of Mad Mod before they had to run for their lives as Mad Mod came after them with a bazooka as big as an elephant.

Then an endless white room whose floor and roof was covered by black spots. The craziness escalated when Mad Mod disappeared down a spot only to appear from a second one. What followed were the Titans going in and out of the spots all over the place trying to find their quarry.

And then it became a chase up a seemingly endless flight of stairs while Mad Mod was riding a moped. But eventually Mad Mod reached the top of the stairs (guess they were not so endless after all) and pressed the ruby on his cane. The stair was promptly turned into a slide and all those who lacked the ability to fly began to side down it, straight towards a meat grinder.

Though thanks to some quick thinking on Beast Boy's part and with some assistance from the two flying girls in the group, they managed to escape being crushed and were quickly back on track.

The chase then led them into a corridor filled with doors. At that point the whole gang began running from door to door going through one door only to come out of a different one. Along the way other crazy and random things came along such as Mad Mod canoeing, Beast Boy morphed as a hamster as big as a rhino, a honking car, Starfire riding on Beast Boy as an ostrich, Raven riding on a bicycle and a whole bunch of other things that I don't even want to count.

Finally, the chase ended when they found a marble statue of Mad Mod against a wall and upon flipping its head open Robin found what hopefully was an off switch. Pressing it, the Titans, plus Raven, made ready as the wall opened up for them. What they found made them wonder and hope if this crazy ride was finally over.

"No way!" Raven burst out at the sight of palm trees and sandy beaches at the end of the hall.

"Is that what I think it is?" Beast Boy asked hopefully.

"One way to find out." Robin said as he began striding towards the apparent exit. The others were quick to follow, but Raven discreetly moved to the back of the group, where she slowly placed both her hands near her holstered gun.

"Looks like the real deal." Cyborg said happily. Raven's eyes grew sharper. The moment they stepped outside, their little truce would be over, and the winner would be the fastest one to draw their weapon. So far, it seemed like the Titans were so preoccupied with the view that they forgot about the knife poised at their backs.

Though it seemed that the whole gang had celebrated too soon as the moment they reached the "exit", they only ended up falling through the poster. And what did they find on the other side? The same freakish room they had started in.

"No!" Cyborg burst out in dismay while Robin slammed the ground with his fist.

"We're right back where we started!" he stated angrily mostly to himself. Robin felt like tearing his hair off at this point. Mad Mod was just always a step ahead of them. Speaking of Mad Mod, that irritating Brit just popped out of the floor in front of them.

"Of course you are, my duckies." He stated as he tapped the floor with his cane, causing a section of it to rise up into the air in defiance to gravity.

"Class is over, and you lot haven't learned a thing. As a failing grade for each bliming one of you." Mad Mod declared as a red glowing "F" appeared on the underside of his floating platform. "There's only one thing for it."

As he said that, the doors swung close and the walls sunk away to reveal humongous hypno-screens. Those bloody chairs from earlier rose up from the floor and hundreds of Mad Mod marble statues advanced upon the gang.

"YOU HAVE TO REPEAT THE ENTIRE LESSON!" Mad Mod burst out before laughing maniacally. The gang instantly made ready for battle yet again, well most of them anyway since Beast Boy had already fallen victim to the hypno-screens… _Again._

"Time for class, my duckies! Everyone, back to your seats!" Mad Mod eagerly exclaimed. Seriously, what is it about schools that make the teachers the only ones looking forward to a class?

"Titans, get that cane!" Robin shouted. That seemed to serve as a substitute for the usual "Titans, go!" as the entire team sprung to attack with fierce battle cries on their lips, except for Beast Boy for obvious reasons.

"Payback time!" Raven shouted gleefully as she pulled out her guns and let loose upon the encroaching statues, scoring headshots with each bullet and felling them in droves. As her guns ran dry, Raven sprinted towards a group of statues. The leading statue of the group in turn charged her with a chainsaw.

Raven smirked cockily as she jumped over it and using its head as a springboard pushed forward to land behind the group. Quickly she spun around while withdrawing a grenade and lobbing it right into their midst. As it exploded, Raven used her cloak as a shield.

Another statue tried to attack her with a Taser, but she broke the mechanical arm holding it and thrust the Taser straight into its mechanical skull before using the statue to steady herself as she swung both her legs sideways, knocking off the head of another statue.

"Oi, no roughhousing! Do I have to separate you lot?" Mad Mod demanded as suddenly several tiles rose higher into the air like pillars, creating a rough and uneven battleground that left most Titans separated from each other. Not that Raven complained.

Several flying statues with rapid firing energy guns had honed in on her and were carrying out strafing runs against her position. She had been forced to take cover behind a pillar while reloading her guns

"These guys just don't know when to quit." Raven muttered quietly to herself. Just as the statues finished another strafing run, Raven stepped out of cover and returned fire. Three of the statues went down from the unexpected counter fire and the rest scattered to avoid a similar fate.

Ground based statues took their chance to engage her in close combat, charging towards her with Tasers, chainsaws, spears and whatnot. But if they thought they had the advantage up close and personal, they were sorely mistaken, exemplified by Raven's smug grin.

"Slice 'em and dice 'em!" she hollered as she charged the statues. The first three were easily disposed off as Raven jumped right over them and decapitated them in mid-jump. The moment her feet made contact with the floor, her sword skewered another statue before she jumped over it and kicked over another one behind it.

They tried to surround her and spear her, but Raven ducked under their stabs and with a spinning slash, cut them all in half. A spear wielding one tried its luck but Raven was upon it in and instant, cleaving both spear and statue in half down the middle.

A group of four statues with four blade-like legs surrounded her, with the one in front trying to pin her to the floor. But Raven gracefully sidestepped each stab before she suddenly rammed her blade into the joint of its leg, tearing it off. She quickly snatched it up and rammed it through the underside of the statue before gliding under a second one and cleaving its small body in two from underneath it.

The two remaining tried to double team her and skewer her from two directions. Raven stood deathly still and at the last second jumped clear, causing the statues to skewer each other instead.

But more of the statues came out from the walls, surrounding Raven. She let out a groan of irritation at seeing the near endless supply of statues.

"Seriously? Is there no end to you guys?" Raven groaned loudly, wishing now more than ever that she had stayed back home.

"Well, as my mom used to say; you should always leave the party when you're having the most fun." She mused out loud to herself as she withdrew a smoke grenade from her belt and threw it to the ground. As the thick white fog obscured the fight, Raven jumped clear of the fight, using the statues' heads as springboards.

Raven quickly ascended a pillar that gave her a good overview of the battlefield, and it was not looking good. Mad Mod was flooding the place with his statues and the Titans were being overpowered by sheer weight of numbers.

Mad Mod himself was nowhere in sight, probably hiding behind his army of statues. But Raven would need to act soon, they had not spotted her yet but that would not last. And once they found her again they would swarm her like locusts on a field.

Screw the Teen Titans here, Raven needed an exit, and fast. And as luck would have it, she found one not too far from her. a section of the wall had been torn open, showing it was nothing more than paper.

At first, Raven could only stare at what she was seeing in shock. All this time they had been trapped by damn paper? It was so absurd that Raven almost felt like laughing. But no matter the situation, she now had an exit.

So with a satisfied smirk on her lips, Raven silently slipped out of sight.

And as stated earlier, the Titans were not faring that well at the moment, being slowly overwhelmed by the huge masses of statues. But Robin had just reached the platform Mad Mod was standing on and tried to swipe his cane.

The mad Brit however was more agile than his appearance made him out to be as he skillfully dodged and sidestepped each of Robin's attacks.

"Oh, give it a rest, naughty. You've already lost!" he taunted the fuming Robin. Of course, this was like throwing oil on a fire and with a surge of strength Robin leaped at Mad Mod, catching the criminal off-guard.

The cane was within Robin's reach, just one more step and it would be in his grasp. But as his hand made a grab for it, the hand went right through the cane as if it was not even there. Robin fell face first to the ground in shock but was quickly back on his feet, facing Mad Mod.

And as he spotted a torn up section of the wall behind Mad Mod, the pieces fit together in his mind.

"The cane isn't real, which means Mad Mod is just as fake as everything else in here." Robin stated smugly as he charged right through Mad Mod's hologram. "Time for a reality check!"

With those words, Robin leaped over the edge towards the hole. Mad Mod was quick to figure out what he was attempting to accomplish and sent two flying statues armed with missiles after him.

They took aim and fired their barrage of missiles just as Robin landed outside of Mad Mod's school. They exploded harmlessly well away from Robin. As he stood back up again, Robin cast an angry glare over his shoulder at the still raging battle.

"I need to shut this down before it's too late." He stated to himself as he turned his head back forward, only to end up staring down the barrel of Raven's Desert Eagle.

"I think you've got bigger concerns right about now." She said mockingly. Robin narrowed his eyes at her.

"I thought we had a truce." He said accusingly, causing Raven to smirk widely.

"Yeah, but only until we got out. And in case you haven't noticed, we're out now. So now we're back to square one. And besides, with your friends occupied this would be a perfect opportunity to waste you."

"Sounds to me like you're scared of facing us all together." Robin stated, trying to provoke Raven. She merely shrugged her shoulders.

"As I said before; you live united, or die divided. You're divided now, so all that's left is for you to die." Raven clarified just before she pulled the trigger. Robin involuntarily twitched from the action, but the only thing that came out of the gun was a click.

Raven had run out of bullets.

"Okay, that was not supposed to happen." Raven stated, sounding completely calm despite the situation. Before she could try her luck with her second gun, Robin leaped at her with a fierce battle cry.

Raven sidestepped him and tried ramming her elbow into his back. He spun around and grabbed hold of her arm before performing a judo throw on her. He tried pinning her down, but Raven threw a flash bang into the air.

Robin was forced to backpedal and shield his eyes from the blast and that was all the time Raven needed to get back on her feet and draw her last gun. Robin saw the imminent danger and dived towards her. Raven had time to fire off one bullet that tore into Robin's shoulder before he smashed into her like a bull.

Raven crashed to the ground and Robin flipped right over her before spinning around and trying to smash his heel into her. She rolled away and was quickly back on her feet with a fist thrown at Robin.

He managed to catch it, but unfortunately it was with his wounded arm and he felt pain flare up as his damaged shoulder protested to the sudden strain. Seeing his pained expression, Raven smirked at him.

"What's the matter? You look a little shaky there." She commented with fake concern. Robin merely gritted his teeth and ignoring the pain, he pushed Raven's arms aside and delivered a hard punch to her guts.

She staggered back from the blow, but before Robin could push his luck Raven had managed to draw her broadsword and charged at him. Robin was forced to jump back to avoid a vicious swing before he somersaulted to avoid a stab.

He tried to get in a hard swing with his leg, but Raven was faster with her blade and he was forced to dodge. Though he was not fast enough a nasty cut appeared on his thigh. He tried to distract her by throwing several birdarangs at her while putting as much distance between them as possible, but Raven merely cleaved the offending projectiles in two with her sword before rushing in again.

Raven tried a high swing that Robin ducked under, but he was not fast enough to avoid the spinning kick that followed in its wake and was knocked off his feet. As she approached him, Robin lashed out with his legs, knocking Raven's legs from under her and causing to fall unceremoniously to the floor.

Seeing an opening, Robin scrambled back to his feet and tried to pin her down, but Raven began to wildly swing her sword. It forced Robin back as Raven staggered back to her feet. Robin put as much distance between them as possible before he threw a pair of discs at her.

Raven dodged the first and easily deflected the second one before giving Robin a cocky grin.

"That's the best you can do?" she asked tauntingly. However her confidence wavered when she noticed that he too was smiling.

"Who said I was aiming for you?" he asked rhetorically. Raven was quick to realize something as she turned around to see both discs being embedded in Mad Mod's circuitry system.

And they were beeping.

"Oh crap…" was all Raven had time to say before the explosive discs went off, blasting huge chunks out of Mad Mod's system and showering Raven with smoke and debris. Robin was fortunate enough to have some cover to use.

But when he finally dared poke his head out again, Raven was gone.

"I'll worry about her later." He told himself as he went off to deal with another villain, one far more annoying.

In the control booth, Mad Mod was not having a good day. His whole system was crumbling now before his eyes. Someone had wrecked his system. Though Mad Mod was not how you would imagine him. He was an elderly man with wrinkled skin and gray hair, nothing like the youthful hologram of himself that had hounded the Titans.

As more control panels exploded in his face, Mad Mod staggered up from his chair.

"My machines! That meddling little snot will pay… Aaaahhh!" that last part was a frightened scream as he suddenly came face to face with an angry Robin, who was quick to grab hold of the front of Mad Mod's shirt and drag him off his feet.

"Oh… hello, governor." Mad Mod awkwardly said, fearing for his already bad health.

"School's out, Mod. And you're looking at about twenty years of detention." Robin stated harshly. Mad Mod could do nothing else but squirm in Robin's iron grip.

* * *

With a final heave, Cyborg opened the metal hatch that exposed the clear blue sky. He made a satisfied sound as he climbed out, followed by Argent. After they climbed out, a tied up Mad Mod was thrown out.

"Ah yeah, this is definitively the real deal." Cyborg said in satisfaction as Robin climbed out, having both his shoulder and thigh bandaged up. God bless first-aid kits.

"School always seems smaller after you graduate, doesn't it?" He joked as he peered down the hatch for the last two Titans.

"Just don't expect me to go to any reunions." Argent deadpanned just as Starfire emerged, carrying a still hypnotized Beast Boy.

"I cannot awaken Beast Boy. I have tried the tickling, all manner of bodily noises and the word underpants. I fear that this time his brain is gone forever!" she exclaimed worriedly.

"Didn't know he had a brain to begin with." Argent observed with utmost seriousness. That seemed to do the trick as Beast Boy began laughing.

"Good one!" he complimented the joke between fits of laughter, right before he actually registered _what_ the joke was about. At which point he looked thoroughly insulted.

"Dude, that's not funny! I totally have a brain!" he burst out angrily as the other Titans calmly walked away. "I just don't use it much."


	9. Chapter 9: Apprentice pt I

**Chapter 9: Apprentice pt. I**

Running, why did it always have to involve running? Why could it never be a simple fistfight when heroes and villains met? But no, the villain always had to run away and start an irritating chase sequence.

Though Robin was not even asking those questions here, his whole mind was devoted to one single factor. The thrice accursed villain that Robin was currently chasing. The psychopath that had eluded him for God knows how long.

Slade.

The one eyed villain was just ahead of Robin, always staying a step ahead of him. But Robin never gave up, he pressed on no matter what. Over ravines, through cliff faces, past open fields and everything in-between. He would not let the madman get away, not this time.

Finally, with one final leap, Slade landed on a stone plateau with four natural rock pillars on it. Robin was not far behind. But when Robin landed, he found to his great anger that he had lost sight of the madman. His eyes traveled in every direction, but there was no sign of his hated quarry.

Though he did not need to look for long, as suddenly Slade stepped forward from behind one of the stone pillars, looking as calm as ever.

"Dangerous behavior, Robin. You must be very eager to see me. I'm flattered." He said with a voice devoid of any emotions. Just hearing him speak made Robin's blood boil with rage.

"I'm not here to see you, I'm here to stop you." he snarled back in anger as he assumed a fighting position.

"Hmmm, but how can you stop me when you don't even know what I'm planning?" Slade questioned as he began circling Robin. But Robin had had enough of talking with the madman.

"Like this." Was all he said before he leapt to attack. A kick that missed, a punch that hit a pillar, a somersault over his opponent, a counter kick from his opponent. It was almost like a rehearsed dance to them.

Slade threw punch after punch, but Robin dodged them all. An attempt to land a hit on Slade only resulted for Robin in his fist getting caught, followed by a blow to the stomach and a judo throw over Slade's shoulder.

Landing on a stone pillar, Robin utilized it as a springboard to launch himself back at Slade. Another punch, another kick, yet another punch, again a punch and finally another kick. All of which Slade easily dodged and ended up hitting the pillars instead.

Slade suddenly countered with a roundhouse kick that sent Robin flying. Another punch followed that Robin dodged. Robin countered with a barrage of punches, but Slade deflected them before delivering a devastating punch that sent Robin crashing down hard to the floor.

But Robin merely ignored the bruises and staggered back to his feet, a pair of birdarangs in his hands. With deadly precision, Robin threw them at Slade. But they merely ricocheted off his armor and instead hit two of the stone pillars.

And for some unexplainable reason, a single birdarang that is about the size of a hand was enough to fell an entire pillar as both that were hit crumbed like dust, taking the other two pillars with them. Dust enveloped the entire battlefield, making it impossible to see farther than a few feet ahead.

Needless to say, Robin quickly found that he had lost sight of his nemesis in the dust clouds. And as he staggered blindly about, he could just feel Slade's eye drilling into him from somewhere within the dust.

"Where are you?!" Robin shouted out in anger. A cold laugh echoed from all around him in response.

"Can't find me?" Slade taunted him, sounding so close yet at the same time so far away. Robin gritted his teeth as he spun around wildly, throwing kicks and punches everywhere in fear of being snuck up on.

"Hiding like a coward, Slade?!" Robin spat out. Yet another bone chilling laugh rang around the battlefield.

"No such thing. I'm merely surrendering the dance floor to your next partner." He answered cryptically. Robin raised his eyebrow in confusion over that. _'My next partner?'_

But even in such a confused state, his instincts and battle reflexes were still as sharp as ever, and that was the only thing that saved him from being cleaved in two down the middle as a broadsword cut through the air where he had been standing just a second earlier.

Twirling around in shock, Robin had just enough time to bend backwards to avoid getting skewered by a vicious thrust before he leaped clear of a downward slash.

Landing a good distance away from his new opponent, Robin finally got a good look at him, or rather her. Not that he had needed to see her, he had guessed her identity the moment that blasted sword had entered his field of vision.

"You again?" Robin questioned irritably, clearly not liking being disturbed right in the middle of a battle with Slade. Raven merely smirked back at him.

"Unfinished business, homeboy." She said before she charged with a vicious slash at his legs, seeking to unbalance him. He jumped over it and drove an elbow into her face. As she stumbled back, Robin gave a ferocious battle cry as he pounced on her.

His mind became clouded with single-minded rage. For a few moments, he did not see Raven in front of him, but Slade. And in a blind fury, he rained down blows on her mercilessly. But Raven managed to get a kick in on his chest, knocking him back.

She wasted no time and rushed with a flurry of sword strikes. Slash, slash, stab, slash, spin, stab. She was relentless, never giving Robin time to counterattack. He kept dodging back and forth, desperately trying to get under her guard. But that damned sword was everywhere!

But as Raven came at him with another downward slash, Robin made a snap decision and retrieved two birdarangs from his belt. The clang of steel hitting steel echoed around the field as Robin used his improvised weapons to block the sword. For a few moments, both combatants strained against each other, trying to overpower the other.

"This ends now!" Robin snarled at her as he suddenly pushed Raven's blade aside and drove a steel tipped boot into her gut with all his strength. Raven got the wind knocked out of her and even dropped her sword. She staggered to the edge of the plateau to recover.

But Robin would have none of that. Before he even knew what he was doing, he had snatched up Raven's sword and charged her with a savage battle cry. The next few seconds was a blur to Robin. One moment he was charging Raven, the next he was standing right in front of her.

Raven was looking at him in shock, as if she could not believe what she was seeing. Robin at first looked confused by her reaction, but when a trickle of blood leaked out of her mouth Robin became aware of the sword handle gripped in his hand.

Slowly looking down, dreading what he would find, Robin felt his breath leave his lungs at the sight of Raven's sword gripped in his hands while the blade was piercing Raven's stomach.

He could not believe it! He had just done the thing he had sworn never to do. This could not be real, it was impossible!

But there was no denying what his eyes were seeing. There was no lie, it had happened. Cold dread gripped his stomach as Robin staggered back from Raven, too horrorstricken to do anything else.

Raven gave him one last shocked look before she fell backwards and plummeted into the abyss. All the while, Robin did nothing but stare in disbelief. What had he done?

"Excellent, Robin." Slade cold and silky voice cut through the still air like a knife. "We appear to be evenly matched, and equally ruthless."

Hearing his nemesis speak again, Robin found a target for all his anger and guilt. Any feelings of remorse and disbelief washed away from his mind like words written in sand. Slade was going to pay for this; that was all that mattered to Robin.

"Not surprising, you and I are so very much alike." Slade's haunting words came again, but this time Robin could pinpoint their location.

Right behind him.

"I'm nothing like you!" Robin countered angrily as he spun around and delivered an uppercut to Slade's chin, knocking him off his feet. Robin swiftly strode up to the villain and grabbed hold of the front of his shirt to drag him right up to his face.

"You're a criminal, a psychopath. All you care about is destruction." Robin snarled with venom right into Slade's face, who for his part looked completely untroubled.

"And all you care about you destroy." Slade countered as he gestured to the pillars Robin had destroyed earlier.

Except they were not mere stone pillars, they were statues of his friends. In his blind rage against Slade, he had never realized that and had ruthlessly destroyed them. They were not his real flesh and blood friends, but the meaning behind their destruction was not lost to Robin.

"No! Who are you?!" Robin demanded as he tore the mask off Slade's face. But what he found was something that terrified him more than his killing of Raven. The one underneath that mask… was himself.

His double began laughing maniacally into the air as Slade's words were proven true. They were alike, in more ways than one.

For a second, Robin closed his eyes. And when he opened them again, he bolted upright from his desk back at Titans Tower with a terrified gasp. Sweat poured from his brow as he struggled to control his breathing while his eyes frantically looked around his small study.

A dream. It had only been a dream.

But he was given no reprieve as suddenly the doors opened and Cyborg stepped in to deliver the news he wanted nothing else but to never hear again.

"It's him. It's Slade."

* * *

Now as I stated earlier, criminals of every kind always felt like running at some point. That was a fact that never changed no matter where in the world they lived. In this case, we have quite a fat criminal wearing an expensive suit running for dear life through the alleys of Jump City.

Though you had to give the guy credit. He looked like he had eaten a horse for breakfast and yet the guy was running as if he was trying to win the Olympics. The reason? Well, someone had busted his drug shipment for the day and beaten up all of his goons and this mysterious vigilante was now hot on his trail.

Bu as kept on running through the alley, he failed to notice a small noose placed out in his path. And like a panicked deer fleeing from a predator, the fat man stepped right into the trap.

The moment his foot landed in the noose, it tightened around his ankle and before he even knew what had happened he was hoisted into the air. The poor man screamed like a little girl as he was dragged towards the roof with the speed of an express elevator.

When his little horror trip finally came to an end, he found himself in an even more frightening situation; he was dangling by his leg over the edge of a thirty story building. And did I mention that he was extremely afraid of heights?

Though he temporarily forgot his fear when an armored boot appeared in his line of sight.

"Tyler Brandon. The biggest shipper of cocaine and heroin on the west coast and known for your indulgence in French vine and American fast food. I would normal say that it's an honor to meet you, but I think we both know that's a lie." A dry and feminine voice said.

Letting his eyes wander over his assailant, Tyler could not find very much about her. She was holding an AUG Assault Rifle in her hands and had a broadsword strapped to her back. the rest of her body was concealed by a blue cloak and hood.

"Who-who do you think you are?!" Tyler shouted indignantly, trying to sound intimidating even though he was scared shitless at the moment. He could not see the assailant's face, but he was pretty damn sure that she was smiling at him now.

"The one who's going to put you out of business." She answered as she delivered a vicious kick to his head, knocking him out cold.

With the deed done, Raven retried a cellphone from her belt and dialed a number.

"Raven here. Mission accomplished." She said.

"_What? Already?"_ an elderly voice asked in surprise from the other end. Raven could not help but smile triumphantly.

"Yep. The drug shipment was busted and evidence has been planted in plain sight for the cops to pick up. Once they find Tyler himself, he'll be going straight into a cell to await prosecution." She answered smugly.

"_And you're certain that no suspicion will land on me?"_

"Positive. With the Teen Titans present in the city, they'll assume it was they who busted him. If not they'll suspect some other vigilante." A chuckle was heard from the other end.

"_My son was right about hiring you. If only I had ten more of your caliber. Say, you wouldn't be interested in a permanent employment?"_

"Sorry, not my style really. I can consider a part time employment for a few months, but nothing permanent." Raven answered.

"_Pity. Oh well, it was a pleasure doing business with you. Your money is being transferred to your account as we speak."_

"Likewise. And just give me a call if you ever need my services again." with that, Raven hung up on the call. All in all, this had been a very productive work. Easy to accomplish, and it had earned her a really nice paycheck. Nothing like a feud between drug lords to push up prices.

But what was she supposed to do now? With the feud over, work would probably diminish in the area. Maybe it was time to move on to another city? Maybe even another country?

No. she could not do that yet. She still had one unfinished piece of business in town. Robin. As long as he was alive, her mission was a failure. True, she did not need the H.I.V.E. anymore since she had established herself as a skilled mercenary in the criminal underworld.

No one really cared that she never graduated from the academy. She got the job done and that was all that mattered to her clients.

But this was not a question of grades, this was a question of reputation. Raven could not just walk away from an assignment just because she was having a tough time with it, because then she would look like a cheap punk!

Raven could not walk away from this, Robin needed to die here.

Speak of the devil, her bug within the Titans' communication network was going off. Someone was contacting them. Quickly, she activated the phone tapping, allowing her to hear their conversation.

"_Good morning, Teen Titans. I do hope I didn't wake you." _the unmistakable voice of Slade spoke. Raven's full attention was instantly locked onto the conversation. If Slade was involved, then it was guaranteed to be big.

"_What are you, an insomniac? Who calls at five a.m. in the… ow!" _that was undoubtedly Beast Boy being his idiotic self and Raven paid him no heed.

"_What do you want?" _Robin was the next, direct and straight to the point as usual. _'Yes, what is it you want, Mr. Cyclops?' _Raven thought suspiciously.

"_Well that's precisely what you've been trying to find out. And in spite of all your efforts, you're still in the dark about my intentions." _Of course, the egomaniac had to roll on with some taunting monologues. Boring as hell.

"_Disappointing, Robin. I expected a little more from you." _though Raven had to admit, the guy was good with the mind games. Here he was, conversing with the enemy, and he made it sound like he was a bloody schoolteacher reprimanding a bunch of unruly students.

"_Like I care what you…"_

"_But since you've been unable to discover my plan, I suppose I have to reveal it myself." _Right now Raven wished that she could have hacked into the visual feed as well, since she had a strong feeling that something important was displayed on screen right about now.

"_I'm sure you're all familiar with the concept of a Chroniton Detonator." _Okay, now she was glad she had no access to visual feeds, because she sure as hell did not want to see that.

"WHAT?!" Raven burst out in shock and outrage. The guy was planning on freezing time permanently in Jump City?! Thankfully her bug in their system only allowed her to eavesdrop, not communicate. If it had been otherwise, Raven would have revealed herself from that one outburst.

"A Chroniton Detonator?! Is that guy insane… wait, dumb question, of course he is." Raven mumbled to herself. Apparently her outburst had caused her to miss a portion of the conversation as she only snatched up the end of Cyborg's sentence.

"_Tell me where!" _Robin snarled at him. Raven could not help but shake her head. Was he that stupid to think that the enemy was just going to hand out that piece of information willingly?

"_You're a clever boy, Robin. I'm sure you and your little friends can figure it out. However, since I control the detonation, time… is not on your side." _Those were the last words Slade spoke before he cut the feed and left the Titans to make their next move.

Raven herself also cut the connection, seeing as she had heard enough. Okay, Slade was planning on destroying the entire city, what the hell should she do now? Run away with her tail between her legs? It would be the most logical course of action. Raven had no desire to end up frozen in time forever.

However, Raven had never been a fan of running away from a fight, at least not without trying to win. Besides, Robin was still alive and kicking, something Raven had to rectify. Of course, there was the chance that he would get caught in the blast, at which point her mission would be moot.

But as stated earlier, Raven did not want to throw her life away, reputation or not. She was not leaving this city until Robin was gone, but neither did she want to end up caught in the blast. So how the hell would she do it?

That was when it hit her like a freight train.

"Slade! He's still in the city, which means he's also in the blast zone!" Raven burst out as she slapped her forehead in understand. That was her answer to her dilemma. Raven may not have known Slade that well, but she was sure beyond any doubt that the man would never throw his life away so carelessly.

That meant only one thing, he must have some form of a failsafe to protect himself. So in other words; if she stuck close to Slade, she could most certainly both remain in the city and stay safe.

Great, she now had a plan, now all she needed to do was find the damn villain. Easier said than done here. Raven could not help but give a huff of irritation. Just how do you track that guy down in the first place? The Titans had tried to find him for God knows how long, and they are no closer than what they were when they began.

Maybe she could use… No! Absolutely not! No way was she using her empathic powers again! She had her fill of that infernal power the last time she used it. But what left that for her to use then? There was no way she was going to manually search the whole frigging city.

But then another thought struck her. She could use the bug planted in the Titans' communication system to track Slade's signal back to the source!

That would alert the Titans of their breach in security, but in the long run it was probably worth it.

"Well, no time like the present. Better get to work." Raven mused to herself as she headed off.

* * *

"Don't you at least want to know where to look?" Argent asked impatiently of Robin. _'Seriously, he can be so pigheaded sometimes.' _She thought to herself as she rewound the message sent by Slade.

"Slade gave us a bit more information than he intended." She explained as she zoomed in on the device. "Here, in this reflection."

"Oooh, squiggly lines. Way informative." Beast Boy deadpanned sarcastically. Argent merely pressed a few other buttons and the writing was cleared up and turned in the right direction.

"Pier 41!" Starfire burst out as she read what was written.

"The docks." Robin concluded. Beast Boy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as Argent gave him a pointed stare. Robin was about to yell his usual catchphrase when suddenly the alarms on the computer went off.

Argent immediately backed off in confusion as Cyborg promptly stepped forward and took her place at the keyboard.

"Dude, what's going on?" Beast Boy asked in confusion. Cyborg ignored him for a few moments as he frantically typed away at the keyboard.

"I don't know yet, something's messing with our system." Cyborg said in such a rush it was a miracle that anyone even had time to register his words. But suddenly his eyes widened in shock as he finally found the problem.

"Aw man! Yo Rob, you better come take a look at this." He called over his shoulder. Robin quickly strolled up next to his friend.

"What do you got?" he asked.

"A bug in our system, specifically our communication system. This is bad, someone has been eavesdropping on us." He explained angrily. Not that you could blame him, the guy had a very protective attitude when it came to the tech he had developed.

"Who?" Robin asked heatedly. No one messed with their system like that. Cyborg merely shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, but I can tell you what they're doing. They've hacked into the feed from Slade and are tracking it back to its source." Cyborg explained before his fingers began dancing over the keyboard again. "But that works both ways. I can easily hack the signal and trace it back to its source, and then we can…"

"No." Robin cut him off harshly. "Our priority is Slade here. Everything else can wait."

Both Cyborg and the team looked skeptical about that. Sure, Slade had a Chroniton Detonator, but was it really safe to ignore a possibly hostile factor like this?

"We're wasting time here. Let's go." Robin ordered and without even waiting in case anyone had something to say on the matter, he strode out of the living room.

That guy was talking life way too seriously.

* * *

The Teen Titans were not the only ones aware of this new player. From his lair, Slade eyed the red dot blinking on a map over the city, indicating the location of his newest hunter. Despite the situation, Slade could not help but chuckle.

"A computer bug planted in the Titans communication system? Dear child, you certainly keep on surprising me here." He commented with that chilling voice of his. Slade could have easily sent a scrambling signal back at her right about now. That would knock her off his trail.

But he did not, instead he set his system to broadcast on a small level, making it easier for her to track him.

"I've left breadcrumbs for both of them now. Time for Hansel and Gretel to come home." Slade commented jokingly to himself.

* * *

Reaching Pier 41 was obviously the easy part for the Teen Titans. They lined up at the ready outside a warehouse while Cyborg stepped forward. With one blast from his sonic cannon, the door was blasted apart and the Titans stormed inside, ready for battle.

Only thing was, there was no one there. The place was deserted.

"Empty?" Starfire asked dumbfounded.

"Aw man!" Cyborg complained as he and the rest of the team began lowering their attacks.

"I don't believe this!" Robin snarled in anger. He was so close to get Slade, but yet again that slippery villain was one step ahead of him.

But as they suddenly found out, the place was not as abandoned as they had first come to believe as dozens of Sladebots jumped out of the shadows to surround the team.

"Great, now what are we to do?" Beast Boy asked as he cautiously eyed the large number of opponents. Robin however seemed to be undeterred by their numbers.

"We fight." He answered as be brought out his bo staff, though he did not fold it out to its usual length.

"Titans, go!" he shouted and as one, the team leaped into action. Though it seemed that Robin had a hell of a lot of pent up anger in him as he ruthlessly decimated the bots he was facing before rushing off to find more targets.

Cyborg meanwhile began to charge his opponents, intending to pound them into the ground. Robin beat him to it and with a few kicks and punches had knocked out Cyborg's opponents before moving on.

"Hey, I was gonna do that." An indignant Cyborg complained, but Robin merely ignored him.

Starfire found herself surrounding by three enemies. She powered up her starbolts and made ready to launch them at her opponents. Out of nowhere, Robin dived in, bouncing from one enemy to the next with lethal efficiency. Starfire was left gaping in disbelief in his wake.

Beast Boy too found himself surrounded by four enemy combatants. He in turn morphed into a bull and was just about to charge at the nearest one when Robin jumped in and delivered a double kick to two bots before leaping at the other two. They did not last much longer.

Argent meanwhile had formed a huge drill out of her crimson energy but never got a chance to use it as Robin jumped right in her way and leaped straight into her opponents. Argent could only stand there and gape as Robin crushed the bots with brutal kicks and punches.

The fight quickly degraded to the point that it was just Robin alone who fought the Sladebots while his team merely stood on the sidelines and watched. Sure, they wanted to step in and help him. But judging from how brutally he literally smashed the bots to pieces, they felt it was safer to just let him vent his anger on the Sladebots.

Better them than me. That was what the whole team thought as Robin tore into the enemies like a berserker.

Finally, with one last punch that shattered half the face of a Sladebot, Robin had dealt with all the enemies. Though it seemed that the man himself was not done yet as he promptly straddled the bot he had just demolished and began to mercilessly beat it further to pieces.

"Uhhh… Robin, I think you got him." Cyborg awkwardly pointed out, though it seemed like Robin had not even heard him.

"Yes, please, you may stop now." Starfire leaded as she stepped forward and grasped his arm just as it was about to land another blow. "We are victorious."

"Slade's go his finger on the button, and we've got nothing! Does that sound like a victory to you?" Robin heatedly retorted, sounding for a moment like he was going to attack her, before promptly stomping away towards the exit.

The rest of the team saw no other alternative than to follow their leader and regrouped outside of the warehouse.

"Okay, we know the Chroniton Detonator was here, now we just have to figure out where it went." Cyborg reasoned from where he stood next to Beast Boy.

"No problem. We should split up and…"

"… Waste what little time we have left searching only to come up empty-handed?" Argent interrupted Beast Boy with her brand of sarcastic truth.

"Well, when you put it like that…" Beast Boy admitted while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Starfire soon joined in on the debate.

"Argent is right. We must find some way to track the device."

But Robin was paying no mind to his team, he was looking for a solution on his own. His eyes scanned furiously over the area in search of something, anything. Suddenly, he caught sight of a dock worker, probably just beginning his shift.

The thought of whether or not the man was even involved in this matter never seemed to occur to Robin. The man was close to a place that Slade had been in, ergo he must be involved with the madman. It was that simple to Robin.

"Freeze!" he called out as he chased after the man. Needless to say, the man found the thought of listening to an angry and violent teenager not in his best interest and made a run for it.

Sadly, he did not get very far before a birdarang embeds itself in his path. Before he thought about just running past it, Robin slammed into him, pinning him harshly against the wall.

"Tell me everything you know about this!" Robin demanded as he held up Slade's symbol for the man to see. Of course, the poor man was scared shitless and all that came out were a stream of incoherent babbles and stammering.

"Answer me, now!" Robin persisted as he slammed the man against the wall for emphasis. He was not messing around today. It seemed that Robin's persistence gave the man enough motivation to at least answer him.

"I've never seen it before! I don't know anything, honest!" he desperately pleaded with Robin. But that seemed not to be the answer Robin was hoping for as his face scrunched up in fury.

But before he had a chance to go any further with his interrogation, a crimson fist grabbed hold of him and slammed him into the opposite wall, pinning him in place. It was not long after than he found himself surrounded by his own team.

"I thought you said earlier that you could handle it." Argent stated as she released her hold on him.

"You promised." Starfire added in a hurt tone, clearly displeased that he had broken his word. But sadly, Robin was all but deaf to their words. There was only one thing that mattered to him at the moment; catching Slade.

"We're wasting time." He stated angrily as he began to stalk away. But Beast Boy had had enough of his attitude by now.

"You know, just because we're trying to catch Slade, doesn't mean you have to act like him." he said irritable. _That _got a reaction out of the Boy Wonder, and not a positive one. His whole body froze up momentarily before he whirled around to face Beast Boy.

"Don't you ever compare me to him." he practically growled as he walked right up to Beast Boy with a furious expression. "He's trying to destroy the city, I'm trying to save it!"

The situation looked like it was about to devolve into a fistfight at this point, and no one on the team knew how to avert it. Salvation came in the least expected form from Starfire.

"ACHOOO!" it might have been a harmless sneeze, if it was not for the fact that it was powered up by Starfire's starbolt power. The Titans therefore got a firsthand taste of how many of Starfire's opponents felt after a battle.

"Bless you." Argent said in a dazed state.

"Forgive me, I'm allergic to metallic Chromium. There must be a source near…" that was about what she got out before another sneeze became imminent. With fearful eyes, the Titans scattered in every direction to avoid a full-on blast of it. A wise course of action, considering that one sneeze created a mushroom cloud from the explosion.

As things settled down again, the Titans began to carefully poke their heads out from their covers.

"Sorry." Starfire awkwardly apologized just as Cyborg approached her with a curious expression.

"Interesting." He commented mostly to himself.

"Not really. On my world Chromium allergies are quite common." Starfire explained.

"No, the key component of a Chroniton Detonator is a metallic Chromium core, which means…"

"… Starfire can track it."

It seemed things finally began going the right way for the Teen Titans.

* * *

"Why, out of all the places in this whole goddamn city, did Slade have to set up in THE BLOODY SEWERS?!" it was not a good day or Raven. First the city was threatened with imminent destruction, then she had to unveil her bug in the Titans system and now she had to trudge through sewer water to reach her target.

Definitively not how she had planned to spend the rest of the day.

But, as they say, beggars can't be choosers. If she wanted to find Slade, then trudging through sewers she had to do. But this had better be worth it in the end. Even if the signal was easy as hell to follow, the sewer system was like a damn maze. It kept twisting and turning in every which direction.

And with every minute wasted trying to find the shortest route, the greater the chances of Slade deciding to trigger his bomb. Though thankfully she had come prepared for a battle. Not only did she carry a huge variety of weapons on her persona, she also carried a duffel bag packed to the brim with all manner of little goodies. Raven was just about to round another corner when…

"ACHOOO!" the noise was accompanied by an explosion that shook the walls around Raven. Frantically, she slipped behind the corner and turned the safety off on her AUG Assault Rifle. What manner of creature could cause such an explosion with just a simple _sneeze_?

"I believe it is this way." Never mind. When a Titan was involved, all sorts of crazy stuff always seemed to happen. Raven pressed herself deeper into the shadows as she saw the Teen Titans walk right past the sewer line she was hiding in. but something was a little different here, there was an underlying tension between the Titans.

Something had happened earlier, and Raven was willing to bet that the cause was Robin, who was at the back of the group instead of his usual spot at the front. Carefully, Raven took aim at Robin's back. If she killed him here and now, then she could just hightail it out of here.

"Look, guys, about earlier…" Robin began to softly explain to his teammates, unaware of the imminent danger lurking behind him. Raven had a clear shot now, but something she caught sight of just ahead of the team made her hesitate.

She was not the only one who had spotted it.

"Whatever you want to say, it'll have to wait." Argent stated as she pointed ahead of them, where a motorboat was lying in the water. But it was not the boat that caught their attention, it was its cargo.

The Chroniton Detonator.

A single Sladebot was guarding the device, and upon catching sight of the team was quick to put full throttle on the boat, racing away.

"Titans, go!" Robin shouted as his team set off in hot pursuit. However, Robin himself never got very far before a concrete hand burst out from the wall and dragged him into another room.

"Robin!" Starfire cried out in horror as she and the rest of the team rushed to the hole in the wall to see Robin fighting against Cinderblock.

"Get the detonator! Go!" he shouted as he dodged a wild swing from Cinderblock. Though at first hesitant, the Titans finally decided to follow their leader's orders and took off in pursuit of the boat.

The moment the Titans were out of sight, Raven silently made her way up to the hole. Peering inside, she could not help but be somewhat impressed. Robin had no superpowers whatsoever, and yet he was holding his own against Cinderblock.

Still, as much as she would love to watch this, time was ticking away. That bomb could go off any second now and Raven liked to be in synch with the rest of time. Besides, the signal was stronger from within here, meaning she was getting closer.

So with that in mind, she slowly edged around the two combatants. Thankfully they were too busy fighting each other to notice her. Who knew, maybe Raven would get lucky and Cinderblock would squash that little pest for her.

As Raven made her silent escape, Robin was giving the pain to Cinderblock. Assuming that the lumbering pile of concrete could even feel pain to begin with. Rage was fuelling Robin at this point, giving him near superhuman strength as he mercilessly pounded away at his opponent.

And at last, Cinderblock could take no more of the beating and collapsed. Though the fact that Cinderblock was now thoroughly knocked did not apparently register with Robin as he leaped on top of his chest.

"Where is he?! Where's…" before the whole question had left his lips, Robin noticed that Cinderblock was clutching a device in his massive hand. Gingerly picking it up, he found a digital map on screen with two locations being marked out.

The first location was the one he was currently standing in. However, the other location was truly what caught his attention. It was marked with a constantly bleeping "S" symbol.

Robin was practically hypnotized by that one symbol constantly bleeping. For how long he just stood there wide-eyed, Robin was not certain. But finally, his daze like state was shattered as a triumphant smirk split his face. _'Gotcha!'_

* * *

From his lair deep underground, Slade was calmly observing the Titans' futile chase after the Chroniton Detonator on his massive computer screen. Fools, they had already lost, they were just too stubborn to realize it.

"Hurry, young Titans. Your time is running out." He casually remarked, as if he was expecting them to hear him. His statement however was swiftly followed by the door to his lair exploding. But Slade never so much as twitched. In fact, he looked like he had been expecting that to happen the whole time.

Stepping through the smoke and debris, Robin glared hatefully at Slade's back. The bastard had not even turned around to acknowledge him.

"Actually, we just went into overtime." Robin snarled venomously at him, his whole body tensed up to strike at a second's notice. Slade still looked as calm as ever.

"Robin, welcome. I've been expecting you for some time." Seriously, was there anything this guy was _not _expecting? "I was beginning to wonder if Cinderblock was too much of a challenge."

Robin had meanwhile taken the chance to descend to ground level in preparation for an attack. And at last did Slade turn around to face him while holding up the trigger in plain sight.

"Looking for this?" he asked tauntingly. "Well, here it is."

With those words, Slade placed the trigger in the space between the two of them before backing off.

"If you want it, come and take it."

Both combatants at first just silently observed one another, daring the other to make the first move. Robin was barely restraining himself, his whole body already tensed up to strike at a second's notice.

Slade on the other hand was the very epitome of calmness. He had not even assumed a fighting stance; he just stood silently where he was, hands folded behind his back. It was as if he did not plan on fighting in the first place. And that aggravated Robin.

"Aren't you going to fight me?" Robin practically snarled at him. Slade however merely chuckled.

"I'm not the one you need to worry about at the moment." He answered humorlessly. It was not until Robin noticed that Slade was looking at something behind him that he realized the meaning behind his words.

Slowly turning around, Robin had to admit that he was not that surprised to find Raven there. She was currently aiming an AUG Assault Rifle at Robin while glancing suspiciously between both Robin and Slade.

"Am I interrupting something important here?" she asked sarcastically. Robin narrowed his eyes furiously at her. Out of all the times and places, why the hell did she need to show up now?!

"Why are you here? Don't you know what's at stake here if Slade's not stopped?!" Robin demanded furiously of her.

"To answer in that order; I'm here to kill you and I know that Slade has a Chroniton Detonator that he plans to detonate if he's not stopped." Raven calmly answered. But while she may have appeared calm, she was a bit worried.

Last time she had tried to kill Robin, Slade had stepped in and stopped her. She was worried that he might do something similar here. A three way battle was not something Raven relished.

"If you know that already, then why did you stay?" Robin's question brought Raven out of her thoughts as she returned her focus to him.

"Because he's still here." Raven answered while giving Slade a pointed stare. At Robin's confused stare, Raven gave a tired sight before elaborating.

"This place is still within the blast zone of the Chroniton Detonator, so if Slade triggered it here he would be frying his own ass along with the city, unless he had some kind of protection. And seriously bird boy, does he strike you as a kamikaze guy?"

Now that Robin thought about it, Raven was right. Slade would not throw his life away like this, would he? It just would not add up to the image Robin had developed around his nemesis. A humored chuckle from Slade all but confirmed it.

"Perceptive, dear Raven. Very perceptive." Slade complimented. "Neither of you has anything to worry about. I can assure you that we're quite safe from the Chroniton Detonator here."

Internally, Raven let out a relieved sigh. There had been a small part of her that had been constantly worrying that maybe she had miscalculated. Now with that cleared up, she could focus on the task at hand.

However, there was still a chance that she would be forced to contend with Slade as she tried to kill Robin. She tried to keep a critical eye on the both of them as discreetly as she could.

"No need to worry about me, dear child. I'm quite content to merely observe." Slade reassured her with that damnable icy voice of his. It would seem Raven had not been a discreet as she had thought.

Nevertheless, Slade's answer was all the motivation she would ever need. A smirk split her lips, setting Robin on edge.

"Good enough." She remarked before she let loose with the full automatic system.

* * *

There were many things in life that Cyborg hated for one reason or another. One of them was chasing a boat through a sewer. But there was one other thing that Cyborg hated even more; chasing a boat that carried a doomsday device through the sewers while being carried through the air as an invalid, all the while being under fire from the aforementioned boat.

He had to at least give Starfire some credit. Even while carrying his bulky form, she was still able to skillfully avoid the barrage of energy bolts being fired from the boat. Still, those energy bolts were becoming quite a pest to the whole team. So with two precision shots, Cyborg knocked out the guns.

With that obstacle gone, Starfire was able to close the gap unhindered. Even the boat's driver's attempt to speed ahead of them proved fruitless. In just a few short seconds, Starfire had caught up and was hovering above the boat.

"Thanks for the lift!" Cyborg called over his shoulder while giving a thumbs-up. Starfire promptly dropped him on board the boat. The driver, having noticed he had an unwelcomed passenger on board, pressed a series of buttons on a control panel.

The driver suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, and looking back he found Cyborg grinning cockily at him. In this instance, there was only one word that could summarize his position; crap.

The poor driver was quickly relieved of both the boat and the detonator as Cyborg sent him sailing into the sewer water.

That left only one problem for Cyborg; how to stop the infernal boat. He tried gripping onto the wheel, but the boat was on auto-pilot and would not yield to his demands. He ended up tearing the wheel off in his haste to stop the boat. At that point, Starfire joined him on the boat, but she could do nothing else but stand awkwardly on the sideline.

Cyborg quickly grew desperate and tried to press in a series of random codes into the control panel, hoping to score a hit there. All he received for his troubles in response was a computer voice announcing "Invalid code".

The boat now began to swerve wildly from one side to the next, as if it was trying to shake off its passengers, who for their part clung to whatever they could for dear life while screaming in terror.

Finally, Cyborg had had enough and simply tore out the computer system from the boat. With its system knocked out, the boat came to a lurching stop at an intersection. Both Starfire and Cyborg were promptly joined by the remaining two members.

"Okay, I sure hope you ain't planning on stopping the device in the same way." Argent remarked as she eyed the torn out device still gripped in Cyborg's hand. Casting a surprised look at the device, as if he only noticed it now, Cyborg blushed in embarrassment.

"Uhm…" he offered lamely while smiling sheepishly. Needless to say, it did not inspire confidence in the other Titans.

"You do know how to stop it, don't you?" Beast Boy asked in what could possibly be alarm, not that you could blame him.

"How hard could it be?" Cyborg reasoned as he threw the device he used to clutch over his shoulder before walking up to the Chroniton Detonator. Kneeling in front of it, Cyborg began to carefully inspect it in search of something he could work with.

He nearly got a heart attack when the device sprung up like a jack-in-the-box.

"Oh…" was all he could say as he eyed all parts of the device.

"We're standing on ground zero here, folks. If we're gonna do something, I suggest we do it before Slade tries to trigger it." Argent urged Cyborg on. Time was running out for them. All they could do was hope that whatever it was that held Slade's attention at the moment would keep doing it for just a little while longer.

* * *

The clanking of cogwheels was usually the only sound present in Slade's lair. Today, that sound had competition in the form of machine gun fire, originating from Raven who was standing on top of a cogwheel. She was walking in a calm pace on it while aiming at the cover Robin was hiding behind.

Another burst of fully automatic fire was let loose as Robin tried to peek around the corner. Cursing under his breath, Robin desperately tried to find a way to break the stalemate.

"Come now, Robin. You'll have to do better than that. Raven hasn't even broken a sweat yet." Slade announced from the sidelines. Gritting his teeth, he sent a scathing look at the madman. This would have been a whole lot easier to endure if that psycho did not act like he was a bloody referee.

Robin suddenly pulled out a birdarang from his utility belt. Taking careful aim, he threw it like a boomerang around the corner. Raven reacted on instinct and turned her sight on the fast moving target and with a precision shot blasted it out of the air.

But that was all the time Robin needed as before Raven could aim at him again, Robin had popped a smoke bomb, obscuring him from view. Raven cursed out loud.

"Where the hell did he go?" she asked furiously. Her answer came in the form of a grapple gun that embedded itself above her before Robin was dragged up and landed on the same cogwheel as her.

Robin was quick to charge at Raven, who managed to block an incoming fist with her gun before her legs were swept out from under her. But Robin was given no chance to strike again as Raven pulled out one of her Desert Eagles and fired wildly at him.

As Robin jumped back, Raven threw a grenade at him before leaping off the cogwheel just before the grenade went off. While Raven managed to land on her feet, Robin landed painfully on his back.

"Good reactions, Raven. But your martial art skills leave much to be desired." Slade commented yet again. Now it was Raven's turn to grit her teeth at him.

"Will you just shut up?! What are you, our coach?!" though she was more vocal that Robin concerning her displeasure. Slade merely chuckled at her.

"Just offering some advice that may serve you well in the future." He answered. Raven however was not listening anymore as her focus was back on Robin, who was charging right at her with a fierce battle cry.

Raven was quick to reach inside the duffel bag she had brought along. And as Robin came within a few feet of her, Raven pulled out a M1014 Combat Shotgun. Robin had enough time to widen his eyes in shock and dive to the side before Raven began to furiously pump out scatter shots at him.

"Eat this, bird boy!" she shouted furiously as Robin tried to desperately avoid the deadly hail of scatter shots coming his way.

Taking a chance, Robin somersaulted right over Raven as she was just about to blast his legs off. Raven tried to swirl around and get a shot off, but Robin was faster and kicked the weapon out of her hands before delivering a roundhouse kick to her.

She hit the floor hard, but quickly rolled over so she was facing Robin again as she pulled out an Uzi from behind her back. This time, Robin had no time to dodge as the Uzi spit out dozens of rounds per second at him. Several impacted against his chest, but thankfully the Kevlar held. Though he was sure those areas were going to sting later.

Biting back the pain, he threw a birdarang that disarmed Raven before rushing in with his bo staff. Rave sidestepped the first swing and dodged under the second, but was not fast enough to evade a vicious jab into her chest that knocked her back.

"Good technique, Robin." Slade complimented, being ignored by the two combatants. Robin tried again, but this time Raven was prepared. As he tried hitting her with the bo staff, she blocked it with a bowie knife she had retrieved from her belt before she stepped inside his guard and delivered a fist right into his face.

The bo staff was knocked aside as a knife slash to his chest followed, along with a boot to his gut that knocked the wind out of him.

"Good, but not perfect." Slade added.

Robin growled threateningly as he got back on his feet and charged again. Raven tried to gut him, but he grabbed her hand and twisted it until she was forced to let go of the knife while crying out in pain. A fist coming towards his face forced him to let go and back off.

Raven took the chance to make a dash towards her discarded duffel bag. Robin tried to catch up with her, but was not fast enough before she reached it and retrieved a P90. Using a grapple gun, Robin managed to drag himself above the hail of bullets that quickly followed.

"Excellent strategy, Robin." Slade commented yet again from the sidelines. But Raven was fast to ground him with a single shot that severed the rope, causing him to plummet back to the ground.

"Perfect aim, Raven." Slade complimented as Raven let loose with her last bullets at Robin. A few grazed him, but for the most part Robin managed to dodge. Hearing the telltale sound of a magazine running dry, Raven discarded the P90.

Both combatants took a few moments to catch their breaths and analyze their opponent. Both were worn out by now, and Raven was starting to run out of guns to use. But it was obvious Raven held one advantage; time.

If necessary, Raven could wait him out and take her sweet time. Robin had no such luxury. With every second he wasted fighting Raven, the chances grew of Slade deciding to trigger the Chroniton Detonator.

But fortunately for Robin, Raven was not particularly patient when it concerned matters like these. That was exemplified by Raven grasping the hilt of her broadsword and began to slowly draw it out of its scabbard.

"You know what? I'm starting to get bored by this dragged out fight. I say it's high time we ended this." She stated as she pulled out her sword the last bit before expertly giving a few experimental swings with it. She pointed the sword straight at Robin, a wicked grin plastered on her face.

"Your move, bird boy." she said amusedly. Robin narrowed his eyes in anger at her. Nevertheless, he decided to comply as he brought out two birdarangs. Before Raven could wonder what he was planning to do with them, he slammed them together.

That was just the confusing part, the surprising part was when they together formed into a sword for Robin to use. Despite the situation, Raven could not help but grin in anticipation.

"Seems like you've learned a thing or two from fighting me earlier, eh?" she questioned. Robin merely growled at her before he leaped forward with a downward slash.

"Less talking, more fighting!" he shouted as Raven blocked the swing before sidestepping and driving a fist into Robin's side. He staggered back but still tried another attack. He slashed, he stabbed, he thrust, he slashed again. But Raven was far more experienced in sword fighting and was constantly blocking or dodging his strikes with a smug grin on her face the whole time.

As he tried another thrust, he accidentally overextended himself. Raven was quick to knock his blade aside and went in for the kill. Robin managed to sidestep a slash, but was caught unprepared by the pommel nailing him in the gut.

He doubled over from the blow, feeling like vomiting here and now. Though he still had enough sense to roll clear of a stab that would have severed his spine. But as he got back on his feet, he barely managed to get his sword up in time to block a strike from Raven.

He tried getting in a swing of his own, but Raven would have none of that and pushed on. She delivered one brutal strike, then another, and another, and another, and another, and another. The blows kept raining down to the point that Robin's arms began to grow numb.

Then, as their blades became locked again, Raven twirled around his body until she delivered a devastating strike with the pommel of her sword to the back of his head. Robin fell forward, his head spinning like a roulette from that blow.

He was only faintly aware of his body hitting the cold floor as his senses were still spinning wildly. A weak groan escaped his lips as his senses began to slowly return to him. He tried standing back up, but the dizziness made him want to puke… again.

Though eventually his head stopped moving around like a crazy roller coaster, but he still had a nasty headache. Frustration quickly blew away any remnants of dizziness as he slammed the ground with his fist in anger. ow the hell could Raven be that skillful with a sword?! It was just not fair!

"I understand your frustration, Robin. You hate losing as much as I do." Slade's cold and analytical yet at the same time taunting voice reached Robin's ears. "One of the many qualities we have in common."

Hearing his nemesis speak as if they were the same caused Robin's already massive anger to boil over. A guttural growl tore its way from his throat as his hatred demanded that something must suffer pain now. The feeling of cold steel pressing against the side of his throat gave Robin a target to focus all his anger on.

Faster than Raven could react, Robin whirled around with a savage roar and a vicious slash aimed at her. She barely managed to jump back to avoid getting cut in two.

"Still got some fight in you? Well ain't that a sur…" she never further than that as Robin charged her again. Raven was not even given a chance to retaliate as Robin let loose with a flurry of brutal strikes at her. There was no finesse to his attacks, no skill, just raw anger and strength.

It was obvious he was not thinking straight anymore and simply sought to overpower her. a risky gamble that could very well cost him his life. Assuming Raven could actually get a chance to land a hit on him of course. Right now all her focus went to defend herself.

Raven meanwhile was staring wide eyed at her opponent. This was not the Robin she had hounded for months now, this was a raging beast out for blood. Her blood to be precise. And as much as she hated to admit it, she was a bit frightened by his berserk-like behavior.

But suddenly she found an opening as he overextended himself yet again. With a flurry of blows, Raven managed to disarm her opponent before knocking him over. Raven tried to skewer him on the floor, but he performed a backflip that landed him on his feet again, causing Raven's sword to get embedded in the floor.

Raven was never even given the chance to retrieve her weapon before Robin, with all his strength, brought his foot down hard on the blade. And shattered it. All that came out of Raven was a gasp in disbelief before a fist smashed into her gut.

It was quickly followed by an uppercut to her chin, a blow to the left side of her head, a blow to the right side, a kick to the stomach, a blow to the chest, another blow to the stomach, yet another blow to the head and finally a backflip kick to the underside of her chin again that sent Raven flying straight into a wall.

Now it was Raven's turn to feel dizziness. Her whole vision kept spinning to the point that she could not tell what was up and what was down. Her whole body felt like it had been trampled by an elephant and she wondered if a rib had been broken as well.

With a weak groan, Raven slipped down to the hard ground, not even having the strength to stand up anymore after the brutal beating she had just received.

Robin paid her no further heed as he strolled over to where the trigger was still lying unclaimed on the ground. Picking it up, he gave Slade a triumphant grin. He had finally bested the villain.

"It's over, Slade." He stated. Though for some reason Slade looked as calm as ever, as if the fact that Robin was holding the control to his master plan did not bother him in the slightest. It made Robin nervous.

"On the contrary, Robin." Slade countered as the trigger began to sparkle before it disintegrated in his hands. Robin could do nothing but stare in disbelief. So close! He had been so close!

"This is only the beginning." Slade concluded smugly, arms folded behind his back. Robin at first merely looked at him in disbelief, before his look turned into one of anger again.

"Where's the real trigger?" he demanded of the one eyes madman. If he would have to tear this whole place apart to find it, he would.

"Trigger? There is no trigger, because there is no detonator." Slade revealed calmly, with a hint of smugness to it.

* * *

Time was ticking away. The bomb looked like it was ready to go off any second now. There was no more time for debate, Cyborg needed to act. Now!

"Moment of truth, y'all. Everybody ready?" he asked as he raised is forefinger turned blowtorch. Tension was high, everyone was preparing for the worst. Beast Boy was practically chewing his nails off.

"I can't watch!" he announced as he slapped his hands over his eyes, though in contradiction to his earlier words he opened up a gap between his fingers to look. Quickly, before he could start second guessing himself, Cyborg cut off three cables. The detonator promptly shut off.

All the gathered Titans let out a collective breath of relief… that immediately turned into a unified gasp of horror as the detonator powered up again, sounding like it was making ready to detonate.

"AHHH! We blew it! We're frozen in time forever!" Beast Boy burst out in despair. But without warning, the whole contraption sagged together as smoke rose from it and it gave off what could be described as a dying groan. It took a few seconds for Beast Boy to realize that time was still moving as usual, at which point he just looked confused.

"Uhm… Why are we not frozen in time forever?" he asked in confusion.

"Because this wasn't a Chroniton Detonator, it was a fake." Cyborg answered. Unseen by anyone of them, a section of the boat opened up behind them and a strange looking cannon poked out. It was quick to blast all four Titans with a red energy that sent them flying off the boat and into the sewer water.

"So, aside from the nasty taste of sewer water in my mouth, I think I'm okay." Beast Boy announced from where he was floating.

"Diagnostic sensors say I'm fine." Cyborg stated as he made a quick check-up of his systems.

"Kind of weak weapon then if this was all it could do." Argent remarked condescendingly. Slade must have really underestimated them if this was the best he could think of.

"Then… we are victorious?" Starfire asked hopefully.

* * *

Starfire could not have been further from the truth with that question. Unknown to them, that energy cannon was never meant to kill, it was meant to infect them with a new toy Slade had developed.

"Nanoscopic probes." Slade clarified as he stood in front of a huge monitor, displaying the vital signs of each Titan infected. "The Chroniton Detonator was merely the bait, for a much larger trap."

As he explained, he held up his right hand, where a new detonator was fastened around his wrist and extended into the palm of his hand.

"You see with a push of a button, my probes will destroy your friends. From the inside out." Now that would be nasty way to go. But Robin seemed to not be intimidated just yet.

"You can't control them. No matter what you threaten, they'll never obey you." he stated venomously. Slade looked, as always, completely untroubled.

"This isn't about your friends, Robin. It's about you; it's always been about you." Slade clarified to the young teen as he began circling him.

"What?" Robin asked in disbelief.

"Sending trouble your way, leaving cryptic clues for you to unravel. I was testing you." Slade revealed as he faced Robin. "For some time now I've been searching for… an apprentice. Someone to follow in my footsteps."

At this point, he walked right up to Robin and bent down until his face was mere inches from his.

"And Robin, I've chosen you. Congratulations."

Of course, Robin was in no way thrilled by that announcement.

"No way would I ever work for…" his protests died on his lips as Slade held the detonator up in plain view, with his thumb poised to push the button.

"If you join me, if you swear to serve me, if you never speak to your friends again, I will allow them to live. But, if you disobey, even the smallest request, I will annihilate them, Robin. And I'll make you watch." A truly frightening ultimatum; join your most hated villain or see your friends die.

"So, do we have a deal?" Slade inquired, even though both of them knew what the answer would be. Robin may hate Slade more than anything, but he would never be able to live with himself if he allowed his friends to die now.

His body, that just moments ago was tensed up and filled with fighting determination, now sagged together as he lowered his head in defeat, a nonverbal way of saying "yes" when he could not trust his voice to break from sorrow or anger.

"Excellent." Slade said as he turned around. But seemingly unnoticed by either of them, Raven had managed to rise back to her feet, a determined gleam in her violet eyes. Robin had his back turned to her now, and his guard was down as well. She would only get one shot at this, but that was all that she would need.

Careful not to make any noise, she withdrew her last Desert Eagle and took aim on Robin's head. _'Apprentice or not, I'm finishing you here and now.' _Raven thought with grim determination.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Slade suddenly commented offhandedly. Before either Raven or Robin could react, Slade whirled around and threw a disc at Raven. it knocked the gun right out of her hand just as she fired one bullet that sailed harmlessly past Robin's head.

Raven looked at where her gun clattered to the floor in shock before she turned her eyes back forward. She nearly had a heart attack when she found that Slade had closed the gap between them. One powerful blow to her stomach later, Raven was left gliding off Slade's fist as she tried to suck in the precious oxygen that had been knocked out of her.

As she sat on her knees, wheezing for breath, Slade loomed menacingly above her.

"Now now, Raven. Can't have you killing off my apprentice just after I got him." he stated. Raven just glared heatedly up at him from her position on the floor.

"Like I care. I got kicked out of H.I.V.E. Academy because of him, and he's my ticket back in." she growled at him. If she would have to fight Slade to succeed, so be it. Not like she had anywhere to go now. To her surprise though, Slade chuckled at her.

"Dear child, that would be as far away from the truth as you could get. You were never expelled, you graduated." He explained in that damned icy voice of his. Taking not of the confused look he drew from her, Slade elaborated.

"When I sent your team to destroy the Teen Titans as a final exam, I had merely intended to use you as messengers to the Titans. But as I watched your fighting skills, your ingenuity and your boldness, I realized you could be of further use to me."

He paused for a few moments to allow it to sink into Raven's mind before he continued.

"So immediately after you had made your escape, I made an arrangement with your headmistress were you would enter my employment. Part of the arrangement was for her to make it appear as if you had failed and therefore been expelled, and your only way to get back in would be to kill Robin."

"But why would you do that?" Raven interrupted in confusion. Even Robin was listening intently in the background, his own horrifying dilemma temporarily forgotten as he was finally given an answer as to why Raven had been after him for so long.

"You were meant as another test for Robin. By pitting him against an opponent who had nothing to lose but everything to gain from his destruction, you were meant to test his endurance and will to survive." Slade revealed, to the shock of both teenagers.

"I had anticipated that the Titans would defeat you in the end. However…" both Raven's and Robin's attention were immediately back on Slade. "… You far exceeded my expectations when you not only escaped captivity, but actually pressed on and tried time and again to fulfill your mission."

Raven could not help but feel proudness swell up in her chest from his words.

"I realized then that you were worth more than a simple pawn to be discarded on a whim, and that you could be of greater usage to me." Slade concluded at last. By now Raven was giving him a suspicious look.

"You aren't planning on making me your apprentice as well?" she asked defensibly. Slade merely chuckled at her… _again._

"No such thing. I only train one apprentice at a time. I was thinking more of an employment as an agent under my control." Slade clarified. At this, the guarded look in Raven's eyes vanished and a more calculating one took its place.

"Well…" Raven began as she stood back up on her feet, all business-like. "… if I'm gonna work for you, we need to discuss payment. My services don't come cheap, you know."

"I'm sure we can work out an arrangement." Slade answered before he turned his attention back to Robin. "But first, I think you're in need of a new uniform."

* * *

The remaining Titans had by now reached topside, but they had lost all connections with Robin. And it worried them.

"Robin? Robin? Robin, please respond!" Starfire desperately pleaded into her communicator, receiving nothing but silence from the other end.

"Why does he not answer?" she asked in confusion to her friends, who were just as clueless as she was.

"His locator has been deactivated. We have no way to find him." Cyborg stated in despair. He did not like leaving his friend like this.

"Not good." Beast Boy stated the obvious.

"Robin, please. You must answer. Robin…" Starfire continued unabated to call her friend and teammate. She would not abandon him.

* * *

Deep underground, Starfire's pleas echoed out from Robin's communicator, lying with the rest of his discarded uniform. Robin himself was standing in an overhanging light, just finishing putting on the uniform given to him by Slade.

It was modeled after Slade's own suit, except Robin still had his domino mask and the upper body section was half black and half orange. Just wearing this uniform made Robin feel disgusted, as if its very existence was an affront to nature itself. But he had no choice.

If he wanted his friends to live, he would have to play Slade's game. No matter how much it pained him. Speaking of Slade, said man just walked into the light himself.

"I know it seems bad now, but trust me… you'll learn, to like it." Slade offered to his new apprentice, who would like nothing more than to strangle the man with his own intestines.

"Raven, would you be kind enough to show Robin to his new quarters." Slade called over his shoulder before he disappeared into the shadows. Raven quickly emerged in his place and with a simple flick of her head indicated for Robin to follow her.

Down a corridor they went, Raven leading the way while Robin followed like a quiet shadow. Finally they reached an unmarked door and Raven pressed a button on the wall, causing the door to open up. She then stepped aside, allowing Robin to enter.

The room was not much to look at; a simple bed and closet with a small desk in a corner. Comfort was apparently not something that Slade valued highly.

But it was then that Robin became aware that Raven had not left, and was still standing at the doorway. He turned around to regard her coldly, too tired to give a scathing comment to her. But he became confused by the unreadable expression she had on her face. It looked like she had something to say, but was uncertain on how to formulate it.

"For what it's worth, I know the feeling of being trapped like this." She suddenly said, in a surprisingly cold and monotone voice, no trace of the usual sarcasm or wittiness. In fact, it sounded almost like she was trying to cover up her emotions. Before Robin could say anything, Raven had vanished back down the corridor, leaving Robin alone in this new prison of his.


	10. Chapter 10: Apprentice pt II

**Chapter 10: Apprentice pt. II**

"_Robin? __Robin? Please, Robin, where are you?"_

"_Starfire, that's enough now. You've tried reaching him for 45 minutes, I think it's easy to assume that it's useless."_

"_Perhaps if I just try one more…"_

"_Come one, Star. If he was gonna pick up, he'd done it by now. Besides, you're kinda giving me a headache."_

"_But why does he not respond? Where could he be?"_

This discussion kept going back and forth among the Teen Titans as they searched through the whole city, trying desperately to find their missing leader.

Cyborg had found his way back to where Cinderblock had ambushed them and was looking for clues. Of course, he was having no luck whatsoever.

"Robin and Cinderblock definitively went a few rounds, but I can't tell who won. Or where they went." He announced as he surveyed the massive amount of damage done to the area.

Back at the Tower, Argent was manning the computer, handling the coordination and monitoring all possible frequencies.

"No sign of him here either. His locator is still offline. I've been monitoring all frequencies, but he hasn't checked in." she stated sadly as she kept a close eye on a digital map of the city, where yellow dots indicated all of the Titans' locations.

Starfire meanwhile was patrolling the sky, desperately trying to find their lost teammate. She was having the same amount of luck as the others.

"Oh, we're bad friends. We should never have left Robin to do battle alone." She berated both herself and the team.

Down on ground level, Beast Boy kept up a patrol in his many animal forms. Though he did morph back to his human form whenever he spoke to the others.

"Yeah, especially since Slade's big doodah was a dud." He commented sourly. But back at the tower, Argent was running a diagnostic on the wrecked Chroniton Detonator.

"The Chroniton Detonator wasn't a dud, it was a bloody decoy meant to lure us away from Robin. And we fell for it like rookies." Argent stated in self-disgust. How could they have made such a big blunder? She was not the only one thinking along those lines as Cyborg angrily slammed his fist into a wall.

"I should have known that thing was a fake!" he burst out, angry at this whole hellish situation. Slade was so going to pay once this was over.

"But why? Why did Slade wish to separate us from Robin?" Starfire asked in confusion as he flew through the evening sky.

"And if the detonator was a decoy…" Beast Boy mused out loud.

"… What was Slade's real plan?" Argent finished suspiciously. But before thoughts and ideas could be shared, the alarm system went off.

There was crime to fight.

"Titans, trouble!" Cyborg called out in place of their usual leader. None of them wanted to call off the search just yet, but they had no choice. They were still heroes that were charged with protecting this city, and right now that duty called upon them.

Hopefully it would not be anything severe for them to handle.

* * *

As everyone knows, there are two kinds of places villains always targets; a bank or a science lab. This night, it was the latter that had a breach in security. A tower designed research facility specializing in the development of military grade weapons.

A dark figure had just moments ago landed on the rooftop and had already infiltrated the building through the air vents. Quietly moving through the dark room he was in, he soon located his target and threw and explosive shuriken at the lock.

The resulting explosion was heard through the whole building and temporarily lit up the whole room like the fourth of July. But the shadowy figure did not appear bothered by it, he had gotten what he was after.

Alarms began blaring across the building as guards rushed to their positions.

"He's stolen the thermal blaster!" one of them shouted to his comrades.

"Stop him!" another shouted as they rushed after the thief, firing wildly with their guns along the way. The shadowy figure skillfully dodged the shots before he rounded a corner. As the guards caught up, they found him gone.

"Where'd he go?" one of them asked before they rushed back in, hoping to pick up a trace. Hanging above them, the shadowy figure could not help it but internally scoff at their skills. _'Seriously guys, you've got nothing compared to Raven.'_

With a graceful flip, he was back on the ground and was about to make his escape. That is, until he found his way blocked by Starfire and Beast Boy.

"Freeze!" Cyborg shouted from behind the thief, where he and Argent prevented him from going back the way he came. Seeing no other alternative, the thief made a dash out on a nearby bridge that led to nowhere (who the hell designed that building anyway?).

The Titans were in hot pursuit of him and eventually he reached the end of the road. Literally. With his escape route blocked, the thief turned around to face his opponents, exposing his identity in the process.

The Titans froze up in horror as they gazed at the thief. This was not one of their usual villains, it was Robin. Except he was now dressed in a suit eerily reminiscent to Slade's. None of the Titans made a move, they just stared in mute horror at their comrade.

"That's not Slade." Beast Boy broke the heavy silence with an obvious statement. "That's…"

"Robin." Starfire finished for him in equal amount of disbelief. This could not be real, they had spent almost an entire hour searching for Robin, and now they find him robbing a research facility.

"Whoa…"

"No way…"

"Robin, why are you…"

The words of his former team were ignored as Robin threw an explosive disc right into Starfire's face, causing her to fly back into her friends.

"Yo!" Cyborg protested as he glared accusingly at Robin.

"What is your deal?" Beast Boy asked. This was just surreal, Robin would never attack a teammate like that, least of all Starfire. Unknown to them however, Robin was receiving instructions from his new master through a communicator in his ear.

"_Not a word, Robin. They're not your friends anymore."_ Slade's cold and silky voice whispered into his ear. It took all of Robin's willpower to keep up a poker face in front of his friends. It did not matter what Slade told him, they were still his friends.

"_But you have acquired your target, so I suppose you can return home now." _Slade suddenly stated before addressing someone else over the comm-system. _"Raven. A distraction, if you don't mind?"_

"_With pleasure." _Raven answered with a humored voice that Robin just knew spelled trouble. While careful to keep his face neutral, Robin was panicking on the inside. Raven was only supposed to observe him during missions, not take an active part in them!

Given her trigger happy attitude, he silently dreaded what kind of "distraction" she would cook up. The answer came in the form of a rocket sailing through the air and impacting against the ground between Robin and the Titans.

The Titans were forced to jump back to avoid getting fried in the blast, and when they turned around to confront their new adversary, they found Raven standing on the rooftop with an RPG in her hands.

"Damn, I need to improve my aiming with these cumbersome things." She commented offhandedly, as if she was unfazed by the four pissed off Titans.

"What are you doing here, Raven?" Cyborg asked suspiciously as he aimed his sonic cannon at her. But Raven merely ignored him as she addressed Robin.

"Yo, bird boy! Get your ass back to base while I keep these buffoons occupied!" she shouted as se dumped the RPG and lifted an M16 rifle equipped with an M203 40 mm grenade launcher. The team's eyes practically bugged out of their sockets.

It just turned even more unbelievable for them. Not only was Robin committing crime, but he was working with Raven! This was all a "Come the Apocalypse" style scenario.

Covered by the smoke from the explosion, Robin silently slipped away. The Titans only noticed it when it was too late. With a furious roar, Starfire launched herself against Raven, who responded with opening fire on her. She was forced to dive into cover while Cyborg charged, his armored body impervious to small arms fire.

But Raven merely smirked cockily before Cyborg got to experience how it felt to get a grenade from a grenade launcher straight in the face. He was sent careening towards the edge before Argent managed to catch him.

"I don't suppose we can sort this out peacefully?" Raven asked nonchalantly as she loaded another grenade. Four heated glares were thrown in her direction as an answer, along with one verbal.

"Sure, just hand yourself over and tell us what the hell you've done to Robin!" Argent snarled. Raven's way of answering was by pointing at herself innocently.

"Me? What makes you think I did anything?" she asked in a mock hurt tone.

"Don't play innocent here!" Beast Boy suddenly shouted at her as he morphed into a cheetah and leaped at her. Raven sidestepped the attack right before she leaped off the roof while throwing a grenade at Beast Boy.

The moment her feet made contact with the floor, Raven was forced to dodge a barrage of starbolts. She was about to return fire when she was interrupted.

"_Raven, stop toying around with them. I still need the Teen Titans alive to keep my apprentice in check, and I still need you unharmed and out of jail." _Slade stated from Raven's earpiece.

"Aww, didn't know you cared so much." Raven answered teasingly, but she received no reply. Slade had already cut the line. With that little conversation over, Raven returned her focus to the four very angry Titans just waiting to come crashing down on her with the force of an avalanche.

"Sorry, Titans. It's been fun and all, but I gotta fly!" she stated just before she threw herself over the edge. When the Titans reached it, Raven was already gone.

"Okay, what the hell just happened?" Beast Boy suddenly burst out in a mixture of anger and shock. He was not the only one who was shaken up by this.

* * *

Back at Slade's lair, Robin had just returned with the stolen thermal blaster. Standing in an otherwise dark and empty room, he held up his ill-gotten prize as proof of his success, even though he was sickened by it on the inside.

"Excellent, Robin. I'm pleased. You're already proving to be the prefect apprentice." Slade's smooth and icy voice cut through the air, making Robin wish he could just beat the madman senseless.

"This deal can't last forever." Robin spat out in contempt.

"It can, and it will." Slade calmly retorted as several screens behind Robin lit up, displaying footage of when the team became infected with the probes.

"The Titans still have no idea that my Chroniton Detonator was more than a decoy. Now that my probes are inside their bodies, they could remain undetected for years. Decades." By this point the madman himself had stepped into the light. "Unless of course you disobey me, and I decide to destroy your… former friends. With a push of the button."

Yup, the guy just knew how to get anyone riled up and begging for a crack at him.

"Sooner or later, you'll let your guard down. I will get that controller. In the instant they're out of danger, you will pay." Robin snarled out, straining with all his might not to leap at the fiend in blind rage lest he risk killing his friends. He needed to be patient, no matter how much it hurt him.

"That sounds like a threat, young man." Slade began in a scolding tone. "Quite a good threat, actually."

It was hereby official; Slade was crazy. Seriously, who the hell compliments his apprentice for a threat he just made at you?

"Betrayal. Destruction. Revenge. We really do think alike." Okay, that was going too far in Robin's opinion, no way was he similar to this madman in any way. With a fierce yell, he lunged after the controller Slade possessed.

In the amount of time it took for him to blink, Slade had somehow managed to twist Robin's arm into a painful arm lock. He could with a simple flick break Robin's arm by then, but Slade was content to merely hold Robin in this uncomfortable position.

"I monitored your vital signs during the mission. Elevated heart rate, adrenaline, endorphins. You won't admit it, but at some level… you enjoyed stealing for me. It was a thrill, wasn't it?" Slade spoke with a great level of satisfaction before he released his hold.

Robin staggered forward a bit as he massaged his tender wrist. He glared hatefully at Slade's back, but at least held enough self-control not to leap right at him again. He had already experienced how that would turn out.

Said man was currently working on dismantling the thermal blaster and readjusting it into a wrist-mounted version, perfect for usage out on the field.

"You're going to keep stealing, Robin. And you're going to keep getting that thrill. And sooner or later, you will see things my way." Slade commented before he turned back to his apprentice with the thermal blaster in hand that he attached it to Robin's wrist. "Who knows, I might even become like a father to you."

Robin was merely observing the weapon given to him with hardly concealed anger and disgust.

"I already have a father." Robin defiantly stated to Slade. Somewhere above them, a swarm of bats flew away into the night sky.

"Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine on this fine evening." Raven stated humorlessly as she entered the hideout. Slade acknowledged her with a nod of his head, but Robin just glared at her.

"Raven. Glad you could join us." Slade said. Raven merely smiled.

"What can I say? No second rate heroes will ever catch me that easily." She cockily proclaimed. Robin was instantly bristling from that comment.

"Don't you dare speak about my friends like that!" he shouted heatedly at her. Of course, Raven was completely unaffected by his anger, and even had the audacity to smirk right at him.

"Now now, Robin. No need to overreact like that, they're not your friends anymore after all." Slade scolded calmly. Robin turned an accusing glare at Slade.

"Why did she interfere anyway? You said that Raven was only supposed to guard me." He accused angrily. He was somewhat okay with fighting his friends if Slade ordered it, at least then he could minimize the damage dealt to them. Maybe even elude them altogether.

Raven on the other hand had no restrictions other than not outright killing them. If she was to go up against one of his friends, then there would be plenty of gun wounds and broken bones.

"I thought you would appreciate not having to fight your former friends so early on. And besides, Raven is not supposed to guard you, merely provide field observations." Slade explained. Robin could not help but snort at that.

"You can call it whatever you want, the truth is still the same. Even with the probes, you still don't trust me out alone on the field, so you sent your newest lapdog to guard me." He practically spat out in contempt. He had expected a harsh reprimand for that, maybe even a beating.

He had most certainly not expected Raven to walk up to him and pinch his cheek like he was a baby.

"Awww, is the wittle baby bird sad he can't go out and play on his own?" she cooed in a baby voice. On the inside, Robin was stuck between a boiling point of rage and embarrassment. He slapped away her hand and tried to punch her, but she merely stepped out of his reach, that infuriating smile still in place.

While still wishing he could throttle the damn girl, he was astounded by her rapid change. Not too long ago she had given off an air of depression when Robin was blackmailed into becoming Slade's apprentice. For a short while, Raven had shown to be understanding of his plight, maybe even sympathetic.

But now when he looked at her, it was as if that person had never existed. Now she was that witty and self-serving mercenary all the Titans knew and hated again.

"That's enough, both of you." Slade reprimanded both unruly teens.

"Whatever you say, boss." Raven responded easily. To that, Robin could not help but state something that had been bugging him for quite some time.

"Why do you even work for Slade? He admitted to using you as a pawn this whole time, and you're just fine with it?"

"Please, bird boy. I'm a mercenary, remember? Holding grudges like that is not good for business. If I were to start cutting off clients for such things, then I'd run out of clients. As long as he doesn't double-cross me on the job, I'm cool with it." She explained before she turned to Slade.

"Now, if there's anything else you'll be needing, I'll be in the gym." She said casually. Slade gave a small nod of affirmation as Raven walked away. And without saying anything else to his apprentice, he himself walked away, leaving Robin alone.

Not that Robin noticed that small piece of information. He kept staring in the direction Raven had gone. That girl was just one giant puzzle, and no matter how many times Robin tried to piece it together it would only end in failure.

To any casual observer, Raven would seem like the usual brand of scum that sold her services to the highest bidder. But there was more to her than that, something darker and deeper that set her apart from all the others.

What it was, Robin had absolutely no idea. Heck, he did not even know how he was so certain of it. But when he had become Slade's apprentice, when he had been forced to coexist with Raven, he had seen something in her eyes.

Those eyes that usually only contained taunting joy and dark mischief had contained something else. It was just barely gleamed, buried deep within her eyes, but Robin had seen a tormented soul. Someone who wore her attitude like a shield so no one would see what lied beneath.

Robin had tried to simply forget it and focus on how to break free of Slade's grasp, but it was impossible. That girl was one giant mystery, a mystery that Robin just had to solve. So with his goal set up, he hurried after Raven.

A few minutes later, he found her practicing her sword strikes with a wooden sword. She had already discarded her usual cloak and ammunition belts and was simply wearing her leotard and combat boots.

Robin hated to admit it, but Raven was in a whole different league than him when it came to sword fighting. The way she moved, the way she fought, the way she held herself. It all spoke of great skill and confidence. Now when he thought back to their earlier battle, he found it a miracle that he had won.

Ah, the wonders of what an adrenaline-fueled rage could do to your fighting skill.

"Was there something you wanted, or did you simply want to ogle me?" Raven suddenly asked without ever turning towards Robin as she slashed and stabbed at some imaginary enemy.

"Just wanted to talk." Robin nonchalantly stated as he leaned against the doorframe. That got Raven to stop her training and turn to face him. She had a cocky smirk on her lips that Robin just knew spelled trouble.

"Think you can talk while practicing?" she asked innocently while pointing to a second wooden sword resting against a nearby bench. An invitation for a sparring match.

Robin was quick to stride over to the sword and pick it up. He gave it a few experimental swings before he stepped in front of Raven. At first, both combatants were content to merely circle each other, looking for a weakness in the other's defenses.

"Now, what was it you wanted to talk about?" Raven suddenly asked. Robin was about to answer when he was forced to block a vicious strike from Raven.

"Hey, that was cheating!" he burst out before he could stop himself. Raven gave him a taunting smirk.

"Don't remember agreeing to any rules in the first place." She stated humorlessly before she sidestepped and let him tumble forward in surprise, giving him a nice whack to his rear with her sword along the way.

Robin at least managed to swallow the humiliating yelp he was close to let out before he turned and glared murderously at Raven, who looked as smug as ever.

"What?" she asked innocently, as if she had done nothing wrong. Okay, forget the whole talking part, Robin was going to pound her into the ground now.

With a savage cry, he leaped at her with his training sword. He slashed, he stabbed, he did a downward stroke, he feigned left before striking right, he did a spinning slash, he slashed again, he stabbed three times in rapid succession.

He tried to be as fast with his strikes as he could, but Raven was always faster. She continuously blocked or dodged all his attacks, smiling smugly all the time. Robin felt his anger and frustration grow. The damn girl had not even tried to counterattack yet. She was just toying with him!

"Do you know why you can't win here?" Raven asked humorlessly as she kept effortlessly dodging all of Robin's attacks. "You have the rudimentary skills necessary to wield a sword, you have the strength and stamina not to be tired out by swinging it around and you have the reflexes that are crucial if you want to keep your head."

At that point, she used her sword to block an incoming strike, locking both of them in a contest of strength as they both pushed against the other.

"But all of those traits are useless for you since you lack the most crucial factor. Can you guess what it is?" she asked before she leaned closer to his face. "The mindset."

Robin stared back at her in confusion, obviously not getting it. So Raven elaborated.

"No matter what shape, material or style a sword has, it will always be designed for one purpose; to kill. That's what the sword was made for, and that is how a sword must be used to reach its fullest potential." At this point, her smug grin grew more taunting-like towards Robin.

"But you don't take a life, no matter what the circumstances are. It goes against all your moral codes to stoop to that level. And because of that, you will never learn to fully master a sword." And with those final words of taunting wisdom, Raven struck.

It happened too fast for Robin to register what exactly had happened. One second he was locked blades with Raven, the next he was lying on the floor with his sword smacked out of his hands and Raven's pointed at his throat.

"Checkmate, bird boy." she said before she withdrew her blade and held out a hand for him to grab. Robin merely slapped it away in anger as he climbed back to his feet. All it caused was Raven to chuckle lightly to herself before she strode over to a nearby bench.

"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?" she asked in good humor as she picked up a water bottle and took a swig from it. At first, Robin was silent, he just gazed at Raven with an unreadable expression on his face.

"You." he finally said monotonously. Raven raised an eyebrow in confusion, silently asking him to elaborate.

"You puzzle me. At first glance I would rule you off as an everyday scum, but I feel there's something more to you than that. And I want to know what that is." He continued. Raven was quickly smiling seductively at him.

"My, oh my, bird boy. I didn't know you were so fascinated by little old me." She purred as she smiled teasingly at him. A tick mark appeared on Robin's forehead, along with a light shade of red on his cheeks. He had to admit, his sentence did not come out as good as it could have.

"Just who are you?" Robin asked, trying to forget the earlier events. Raven rose up from her bench and sauntered over to him, swaying her hips seductively along the way. She was full on grinning like the Cheshire cat at the quickly flustering face of Robin.

It had been a while since Raven had had a chance to tease a male like this. Her last victim had been some duplicating hillbilly in a red spandex suit back at HI.V.E. Academy. The poor guy had gone as red as his costume and had passed out with a nosebleed. Raven and Jinx had not been able to stop laughing after that for over an hour.

Ah, those were the days.

But she was getting sidetracked here. She now had a new victim to torment. And he was apparently tougher than the last one as he was still keeping up a visage of calmness, even as Raven leaned in uncomfortably close to his face.

"And just why would I tell you that?" she whispered huskily in his ear, her breath tickling his skin before she withdrew while dragging a finger slowly down his right cheek and over his chin.

Raven was now grinning victoriously at her accomplishment. She still got it apparently. Although, it appeared like she had grown a little rusty since Robin was still standing and was not falling over from a nosebleed. Well at least he now had a very dark shade of red all over his face.

Feeling satisfied with her work done, Raven was about to retrieve her belts and cloak when Robin spoke up again.

"Was your old home really that bad?" the fact that he actually managed to speak with such a strong voice did not bother Raven, what bothered her was the question.

Her whole body froze up in shock, her mind going into overdrive from his words. _'How the hell did he know? I've never told anyone how my old home was! He couldn't possibly know, he's just guessing, trying to make me reveal what he wants!' _those were the main thoughts racing through her brain.

Both of them were standing with their backs to each other, meaning neither could see the other's facial expression. Something Raven was internally thankful for. To cover up her shock, Raven gave a loud snort of disbelief.

"You're way off target here, bird boy." she said as arrogantly as she could, hoping to deter him. Sadly, it did not work this time.

"I don't think so. In fact, I think that your old life must have been like mine is right now." Robin countered with a surprisingly calm voice. That caused Raven to turn around to glare at Robin's back, though she kept up an air of indifference.

"And what makes you think that?" she questioned cautiously. Now Robin too turned around to look her right in the eye.

"For what it's worth, I know the feeling of being trapped like this." He quoted. "Wasn't it you who said that?"

But Raven just waved her hand dismissively.

"Just some blabbering on my part. Nothing to bother with." She said nonchalantly. Robin folded is arms over his chest while giving her a skeptical look.

"Then why do I hear doubt in your voice?" he asked. Raven said nothing in response. This was not how Raven had hoped her training would end. Shame, she had been in such a good mood after wiping the floor with Robin.

For how long they kept up their little glare contest, neither knew for sure. Both were doing their utmost to win here. But in the end, Robin was the most stubborn out of the two of them as Raven broke eye contact ad sighed in irritation.

"You're not going to just drop the subject, are you?" she asked rhetorically. Robin said nothing, just continued to glare at her, waiting for her answer. Raven walked back to her bench and slumped down on it.

"My old home was… a shithole. A complete nightmare." Raven began as she leaned back and stared up at the ceiling. "For 15 years I lived in that place, and during all that time I lived like a prisoner. I was never allowed to go where I wanted, do what I wanted, see what I wanted or even feel what I wanted."

Without even realizing it herself, Raven tightened her hands into fists and her voice grew harsher with each word spoken. Robin never once interrupted her, he just silently listened to what she had to say.

"My own home had become a cage for me, where I was expected to stay for the rest of my life. But, as you know well enough, when you cage an animal it only becomes angry. So eventually I just snapped and broke free. I then ended up here in Jump City."

Once again, a smile appeared on her lips, but it was not the same taunting or mischievous she usually wore. It was more along the lines of a melancholy smile.

"When I came to this city, I was for the first time in my life free. Free to do as I pleased, when I pleased. I could finally experience what I felt like to truly live."

"And that was why you chose to become a criminal, wasn't it?" Robin suddenly spoke up. "After being forced to live by all of those rules for so long, you just wanted to break free from all rules."

For the first time since beginning her little confession, Raven turned her eyes back to Robin. Her eyes, which had been just a few moments ago filled with joy, were now filled anger, determination, pain and resolve.

"For 15 years I was oppressed because of some damn rules. But that is over for me now. I only follow the rules I want to follow, I listen only to those I want to listen to and I do only what I want to do." She stated with burning conviction.

All of a sudden, Robin saw her in a different light than before. She was still a dangerous villain in his eyes, but now he finally saw what she also was; an oppressed teenager who seeks to break free from whatever chains that had kept her down for all those years.

Some part of Robin was saddened that he had not found her before the H.I.V.E. had. She had such potential in her, something that was wasted in her current life. If not by a bad chance of fate, Raven might have become a Teen Titan instead of a mercenary.

"Why did they treat you like that in the first place?" Robin asked in confusing, burying his earlier thoughts deep in his mind. In response, Raven let out a mirthless laugh.

"That, bird boy, is not something I feel inclined to reveal." She stated humorlessly, even though it was obvious she was anything but humored. Inwardly, Robin sighed to himself. _'Guess that's all I'll find out about her past.'_

"So you really do know how it feels to be trapped like I am now." Robin finally said monotonously. Raven did not say anything to that, but she nodded her head in affirmation.

"Then help me." That request caught Raven by surprise as she stared in confusion at Robin, from where the request originated from.

"You know how it feels, you've lived like that for far longer than I have. You know how much it hurts to be forced to do something you don't want to do." Robin explained, his voice still strong and calm. Raven eyed him skeptically.

"I think you're asking for help in the wrong place. Have you already forgotten that I work for Slade here?" she questioned him. Robin's eyes sharpened from that.

"I haven't forgotten, but I'm still asking for your help. You're the only one who can help me." Robin pressed on. But Raven was undaunted.

"Sorry bird boy, you're asking for too much. I've got a rep to keep intact, and I can't do that if I were to double-cross my employer. I understand your pain, but I can't help you." Raven answered coldly before she stood up and began strapping on her ammunition belts.

At first, Robin merely stood still and stared at her. His face was a hard as stone, all traces of emotions scrubbed away. He never said anything, he just stared at Raven. Believing their discussion to be over, Raven fastened her cloak and pulled up her hood and strode towards the door.

"I said that you know it feels, didn't I?" Robin suddenly spoke out, causing Raven to stop just at the threshold. "Well, that wasn't completely true."

With furrowed eyebrows, Raven turned back towards Robin, who had his back turned to her.

"Tell me, did you have any friends in your old home? Any parents or siblings?" he asked in a chillingly calm voice, as if nothing was wrong in the world at all. Raven was silent for a few moments before she answered.

"No, never had any." That was a small lie. She did have a mother and a father, but trying to explain their roles in her life would have only spawned more questions that Raven did not want to answer. Besides, with the amount of interaction she had with them, you could practically say that she did not have any parents.

"Then you cannot know just how much this pains me." Robin stated, his voice starting to break. Raven felt she should leave now, but curiosity kept her rooted in place.

"You were alone from the beginning in your home, having no one who you cared for or who cared for you." suddenly he whirled around to face her, unshed tears hidden deep in his eyes behind his mask. "But I have those!"

Raven was taken aback by the raw emotions bursting out from that one simple sentence. But Robin was not done speaking just yet.

"I have friends who I care for deeply, I have a life beyond Slade's servitude! In fact, it is because of my friends that I endure this nightmare, because I could never live with myself if I let them come to harm!" he suddenly fixated Raven with a piercing glare.

"You've never felt it, have you? A strong tie with anyone else but yourself? A tie so strong that you'd be willing to risk your life to save the other?" all Raven did was stare wide-eyed at Robin, not being able to formulate anything in response to his outburst.

"And now, I'm forced to not only serve the man I hate, but fight the very people I care for the most! When I saw the Titans out on the field today, it felt like my heart was torn to pieces, knowing that for them to live I have to be their enemy!" Without warning, Robin strode right up to Raven's face.

"What I'm going through is something far worse than what you went through, and I ask for your help to break free just like you did. But you are too selfish to realize that you're actually helping a man do the same thing that was done to you." he snarled right in her face.

For her part, Raven stared back with wide and wavering eyes, still trying to wrap her head around all that Robin had just said. She had never thought of what it must be like for him, having people who actually cared for him on the outside. At his revelation, something stirred deep within Raven's dark soul, something she had practically forgotten about altogether.

"Are you done now, bird boy?" Raven suddenly asked in a bored tone while folding her arms over her chest. Robin backed away from her in shock as Raven merely glared at him with a cold and indifferent glare.

"_Robin, Raven. Report to me at once." _Slade's haunting voice suddenly spoke over the speakers, breaking the stand-still between the two birds. Tearing his eyes away from Raven's, Robin promptly strode towards the door. But as he was about to pass Raven, he paused.

"You know, I guess I was wrong earlier to suspect that there was something different about you. In the end, you're nothing more than another selfish criminal." He spoke harshly. Raven just gave him a gaze of indifference.

"In the criminal world, it's every woman for herself. I suggest you get used to that." She responded icily. Without another word spoken, Robin angrily strode past her. But unseen by Robin, a single tear rolled down Raven's cheek as she followed him.

* * *

Once again, Robin was sent out to steal something valuable for Slade. And once again, Raven was assigned to keep an eye on the bird boy in case he decided to do something stupid. Reaching the target, there was once again a severe lack of subtlety in the operation as Robin simply blasted the doors apart.

Striding into the room, Robin slowly made his way to the piece of technology that was hovering in the middle of the room (Seriously, were they asking for someone to come and steal it?). Robin was just about to pick it up when he was interrupted.

"You're not walking out of here, Robin." The unmistakable voice of Cyborg stated as Robin turned around to find the entire team arrayed against him. "Not without a fight."

Not wanting to fight his friends, but at the same time unable to warn them, Robin did the only thing he could; he chose to flee. Feigning an attack, he rushed straight towards them.

"Titans, go!" Cyborg shouted as they counterattacked. But they were caught unprepared by Robin jumping on top of Cyborg and using him as a springboard to launch himself into an overhanging vent.

Not long after that, he emerged on the rooftop and made a hasty retreat, internally relieved that he both failed to steal something and avoided a fight with his friends.

"_Not so fast, Robin. You have yet to achieve your objective."_ Guess he spoke out too soon about that. Desperately, Robin tried to justify his retreat and somehow placate the madman.

"The device was too heavily guarded. I'll have to steal it another…"

"_No!" _Slade cold and angered voice cut him off. _"Go back. Unless you want me to destroy them, go back and fight."_

Robin was never given a chance to give a reply, or even think the whole mess over, before the Titans had caught up to him and were blocking his escape. But on the other side of the road, Raven was perched on a higher building, overlooking the encroaching battle with an M24 Sniper Rifle.

"I got the Titans in my line of fire here, boss. Shall I pull the trigger?" Raven asked through the comm-link, having already taken aim on Cyborg's head. One good shot and it would be all over for the tin can.

"_Hold fire, Raven. This is Robin's fight, and he'll finish it alone." _Slade calmly ordered of her. Raven just gave an irritated huff as she removed her finger from the trigger. With nothing else to do, Raven decided to observe the battle through her scope.

"Look, I don't what's going on, but we don't wanna fight. We just wanna talk." Cyborg tried to reason with Robin, trying to avoid a fight. Robin for his part would have loved nothing more than to explain this whole mess to them. But if they were to survive, he had no choice but to be unreasonable to them.

So with that in mind, he leaped right at Cyborg with a kick that sent him flying right past his teammates.

"Guess there's nothing to talk about." Beast Boy muttered as he cracked his knuckles. Before long, he was trying to crush Robin as a gorilla. Key word "tried" as Robin kept dodging his fists.

He leaped on top of the neon shining letter A adjourning the roof with Beast Boy in hot pursuit before Robin jumped off the letter and latched a rope around Beast Boy's arm. He in turn had no time to react before Robin had dragged him into the letter and trapped him.

As Robin landed on the ground, he came face to face with Starfire, who was not even in a fighting stance. Truth be told, she could not fight against her friend like this. It was too much for her to handle.

"Please…" she desperately tried to plead with her friend, but Robin acted before she had time to speak. He knew already that Starfire would be able to crack him, no matter what. He ran right past her and aimed a flying kick at Argent, who blocked it with a crimson shield.

The fight continued in much the same manner after that, the Titans tried to stop Robin while Robin tried to outmaneuver them.

But even though it seemed like it was a life or death fight, Raven knew better. As she watched the fight continue, it was obvious to her trained eyes that both sides were holding back. Despite what they or Slade said, they all knew that deep down they were still friends. And friends do not hurt each other.

Though never willing to admit it out loud, Raven was more than surprised by the strong bonds that existed between the Titans. She was astounded. Growing up on Azerath, Raven had never been allowed to experience friendship. And her short time with the H.I.V.E. had not really given her any strong ties either, apart from Jinx.

And seeing now how even when on different sides the Titans still saw each other as friends, Raven could now glimpse a small part of what Robin endured as Slade's thrall. Not that it was enough to change her mind about helping him, mind you.

She still had a reputation to uphold. And besides, she was a villain, and villains did not help heroes. Unless it was for personal benefit.

As Raven continued philosophizing, the fight was about to drag itself to an end. Robin had managed to evade the Titans and was about to make a break for. That is, until Starfire suddenly appeared in his path.

"Stop!" she commanded while aiming a starbolt at him. Robin came to a screeching halt, unsure whether he should attack or not.

"Do… not… move." Starfire continued with as much strength as she could muster here. Internally, she was just as conflicted as Robin. Robin struggled to maintain a poker face in her presence while trying to figure out a way to avoid fighting her.

"_I thought I told you to use… that… blaster. Attack, now!" _Slade cut in, putting great emphasize on the last five words. It was a clear message; use the thermal blaster, or his friends would suffer. Reluctantly, Robin powered the blaster up while aiming it at Starfire.

"Robin." Starfire spoke up sadly. "You are my best friend. I cannot be in a world where we must fight. If you are truly evil, then go ahead, do what you must."

With her mind spoken, Starfire powered down her starbolt and lowered her arm in a sign of surrender. That did it. Like Robin had predicted, Starfire had managed to crack his resolve. Even though he knew what the outcome would be, he still found himself unable to carry out the deed.

With the will gone out of him like air from a balloon, Robin lowered the thermal blaster.

"Starfire, no. I…" unfortunately, that was not what Slade wanted to hear from him. his displeasure was made perfectly clear from an ear shattering screech from the earpiece.

"_Robin! I gave you an order! If you won't attack, my probes will."_

Barely a second after that announcement, the Titans were doubling over in pain. Their bodies began glowing a deadly orange color as the probes began destroying them, from the inside out. Robin just managed to catch Starfire before she plummeted to the ground, cradling her body desperately.

"Stop! Please stop!" Robin pleaded in panic. He could not allow this to happen, he could not allow his friends to die!

"_Attack, Robin. It's the only way to save them. Attack with everything you got." _Slade answered to his plea. Now more than ever, Robin wished that he could kill that madman. But he had no choice. No matter how much it would pain him, he had to fight.

Reluctantly, he lowered Starfire to the ground.

"Robin…" Starfire spoke weakly while raising her hand towards him. Robin truly felt his heart break at the sight, but he steeled his nerves.

"I'm sorry." Was all he said before he fired the thermal blaster at Starfire. From his lair, Slade was smiling maliciously at the scene.

"That's my boy." he said proudly.

From her vantage position, Raven had to struggle with swallowing the bile that had risen to her throat. Villain or not, this was just too much for her. What Slade was doing to Robin; pitting him against his friends, forcing him to hurt them or else watch them die. It felt so wrong to her.

"_So you really do know how it feels to be trapped like I am now." _Robin's words from before came back to her at that moment.

"_I have friends who I care for deeply, I have a life beyond Slade's servitude!" _Raven shook her head furiously.

"Don't start to get sentimental here, Raven. It won't do you any good" She muttered to herself.

"_You were alone from the beginning in your home, having no one who you cared for or who cared for you."_ gritting her teeth, Raven tried to think of something else. Anything to distract her mind.

"_And now, I'm forced to not only serve the man I hate, but fight the very people I care for the most!" _an aggravated growl slipped past her lips.

"Not my problem, bird boy." she mumbled, trying to dispel that haunting ghost we call guilt from her mind.

"_What I'm going through is something far worse than what you went through, and I ask for your help to break free just like you did. But you are too selfish to realize that you're actually helping a man do the same thing that was done to you." _that accusation had stung the worst out of all he had said, and Raven could not forget it.

"Not my fight, it's not my fight. It's not." She repeated like a mantra to herself, her eyes screwed shut tightly and her hands tightened into fists. But her guilt would not go away.

No matter how much she denied it, Robin was right. Raven was helping Slade do to Robin what was done to her on Azerath. In her quest for freedom, Raven had aided in robbing another person of his. Sure, she had killed before, but that was in a battle, against enemies that had chosen to fight her.

This was not a battle, this was enslavement of an enemy. If Robin was going to fall, it should be in a battle of his choosing, not this sadistic fall into the very same darkness he despised.

"_You know, I guess I was wrong earlier to suspect that there was something different about you. In the end, you're nothing more than another selfish criminal." _

Raven's eyes suddenly flew open again, having found the clarity she had strived for. Watching through her scope, she saw that the battle down below was drawing to a close. It seemed that the probes had given Robin a sick motivation to fight more fiercely against his friends.

But now Robin was backed up against the edge of the building, and with nowhere left to go. Without warning, Robin suddenly threw several exploding discs at the Titans, Forcing them to scatter. And as the smoke settled, Robin was gone.

"_Raven, the mission is over. Return to base." _Slade's voice cut in on Raven's musings.

"Roger that." Raven responded before she turned around and walked away from the scene, leaving behind the confused Titans on top of the wrecked rooftop of the Wayne Enterprise building.

* * *

Within his dark lair, seated upon his throne like a king, Slade kept replaying the fight between his apprentice and the Teen Titans. A form of dark and perverted pleasure rose in him every time he watched Robin ruthlessly attack his former comrades.

"Thrilling." He commented to himself. "My apprentice is progressing even faster than I had hoped. All he needed was a little… motivation."

Slade's little discussion with himself was however interrupted when someone grabbed hold of his fist. Turning to where the hand originated from, Slade found a very, _very _pissed off Robin.

"Motivate this!" he shouted in absolute anger as he tried to smash Slade's face in. but Slade merely caught the offending attack in a steel grip before nonchalantly throwing him back. The moment there was some space between them, Raven rushed in and placed herself between the two, a Desert Eagle drawn and aimed at Robin.

"Stand down, Raven. This is between me and my apprentice." Slade commanded as he rose from his throne. Raven cast a glance over her shoulder at Slade before holstering her gun and stepping aside, nearly vanishing into the surrounding shadows. Slade meanwhile began to slowly approach his apprentice.

"Robin, that was vicious, dishonorable and ruthless. Excellent work, you're becoming more like me every second." He complimented before he turned his back to Robin. Alarm bells went off in Robin's brain like in London 1940.

The only other warning he received was Slade's muscles trembling in fury before the madman spun around with a brutal barrage of attacks that Robin struggled to keep up with. Slade suddenly had Robin in a chokehold, lifting his smaller body off the ground.

But Robin managed to land a solid kick right in Slade's forehead and slipped out of his grasp. From her little spot in the shadows, Raven watched the fight with apparent disinterest.

"Ten bucks says that Slade will pwn Robin." She commented mostly to herself.

* * *

Back at Titans Tower, the team had regrouped and had just made a startling discovery that shed some light on today's events.

"Think I found something. The enhanced sensors are picking up radio interference on a nanoscopic scale." Cyborg stated urgently as he watched the results on the big screen in the living room. Beast Boy, who had been the one scanned, quickly freaked out at the sight of what lay in his blood stream.

"Those things are inside me? EWWW!" was all he could say.

"There're inside all of us, billions of them." Cyborg commented grimly.

"With such technology at his command, Slade can destroy us whenever he wants." Starfire added sadly.

"Unless Robin does whatever that nutjob orders him to do." Argent added in grim realization. Now it was much clearer to them what was truly going on.

"And you guys thought my zombie idea was crazy." Beast Boy added.

* * *

And once again back at Slade's lair, it was going straight to hell for Robin in his fight with Slade. Or was it a sparring match? Hard to tell with those two.

Robin tried an overhead kick, but Slade caught him and threw him away like a ragdoll. Robin landed up among the cogwheels making up large portions of Slade's lair. Robin had a brief surge of panic when he found that he had lost sight of Slade.

Rule nr. 1 when battling Slade; you never, _ever _let him out of your sight. Swallowing his panic, Robin steeled his resolve and began trudging among the cogwheels, searching for his opponent.

Of course, when he eventually found him, the one-eyed psychopath just had to make a cool entrance by riding up on a cogwheel as if it was a damn escalator.

"Good, Robin. You're doing much better than last time. A few more years of training, and you might actually pose a threat." Slade calmly taunted Robin, who for his part backed away from him. Robin quickly broke off a nearby lever to use as a makeshift bo staff.

Slade on the other hand simply brought out his own extendable bo staff. With a burst of steam from a nearby machine, the two combatants attacked and began delivering punishing blows with their weapons.

Robin struck several times, but Slade blocked each stroke before deflecting Robin's staff and landed a solid blow to him. Robin was pushed up to a pipe, but had enough wit to jump up when Slade tried to skewer him with his staff.

Robin landed on top of Slade's staff that had become lodged in the pipe before driving a powerful blow with his own staff into Slade, knocking him into the surrounding steam. Robin lost sight of Slade, but his instincts told him to jump off Slade's staff just before the man himself came up from behind and delivered a downward blow with his fist that shattered the staff.

Robin back flipped up onto higher ground, trying to gain an edge. A piece of machinery began to swing back and forth in front of Robin as he took a few cautious steps back. Without warning, Slade suddenly appeared right in front of Robin, standing as still as a statue. The piece of machinery continued to swing between them. Again, and again. And suddenly Slade was gone!

No sooner had Robin registered that fact before Slade smashed into him from the side. Robin was sent sprawling to the ground and barely managed to roll clear of a massive punch from Slade that left a dent in the metal. He was obviously pissed.

But Robin was undaunted as he threw a spinning kick that hit Slade in the head before following up with a second kick that sent him flying to the floor, a crack now in place on his mask. Slade was quickly back on his feet and glaring with barely controlled rage at Robin. From the sidelines, Raven let out a small giggle.

"He's so gonna get it now." She sing-songed tauntingly, but a sharp glare from Slade shut her up before he turned his attention back to Robin.

"You're going to wish you hadn't done that." Slade stated in a surprisingly calm voice that just spelled pain in bold neon letters. But Robin was undaunted as he confidently strode up to him.

"I only wish I'd done it sooner." Robin retorted before he tore the S symbol off his chest and threw it in front of Slade, where it became imbedded in the floor.

If Slade had been angry before, it had been nothing compared to the absolutely livid state he was in now now. His whole body shook in uncontrollable rage as he glared at his defiant apprentice.

"Uh oh." Raven muttered to herself quietly.

Uh oh indeed, as in the next instant, Slade had pounced on Robin with a flurry of furious kicks and punches. Robin was forced back as Slade pushed on relentlessly, throwing attack after attack that Robin was barely keeping up with.

In a last ditch effort, Robin tried another kick at his head, but Slade caught it and threw him to the floor. Robin got on all four, drawing in ragged breaths as he tried to find the strength to stand back up and keep fighting.

"I have much to teach you, but the first thing you need to learn is gratitude." Slade stated coldly as Robin staggered back to his feet. He cast one sideway glance at the monitors displaying his friends' vital signs, he found determination in it and threw himself at Slade again.

But Slade merely caught his arm, twisted it over his head and slammed him into the floor again. As hard as he could. That finally knocked most of his fighting spirit out of him, but not all.

"I made you my apprentice. All my knowledge, all my power, all for you. But the only thing you care about is your worthless! Little! Friends!" Slade nearly shouted at the end as he pressed Robin's head against the floor. But still Robin tried to resist him. Realizing he needed a reminder of things, Slade let go of him and stood back up.

"If the Titans are so distracting, maybe I should just get rid of them?" he mused out loud while holding his finger over the trigger. At the sight, the last bit of fighting in Robin went out of him. His whole body seemed to sink together as his eyes lost their fighting spirit.

"Don't. I'll do whatever you say." He pleaded weakly. He had lost… again.

"Good boy." Slade complimented happily, or as close to happy as that madman could get. Unseen by both of them, Raven's hands tightened into fists at the sight, even when her face remained impassive.

"And, from now on, I'd like you to call me master." Slade ordered smugly, safe in the knowledge that he was in control of the situation. That safety went right out the window when a starbolt sent him flying away from Robin.

"What the…" Raven burst out in surprise, right before a sonic blast sent her flying off her feet and straight into Slade.

Robin meanwhile was in complete shock over what had just happened. And turning to where the attacks had originated from, he found the Teen Titans standing there. All of them glaring with unbridled fury at both Slade and Raven.

"Leave… him… alone!" Starfire commanded harshly. Slade meanwhile roughly showed off Raven from himself, ignoring the indignant "hey!" he received in response.

"Robin! Attack!" he ordered. But Robin was not too keen on that order and tried to plead with his friends to leave.

"Get out of here, go! You don't know what those beams did to…"

"Dude…" Beast Boy interrupted calmly.

"… We know…" Argent continued.

"… And we don't care." Cyborg finished with an air of finality.

"We are your friends, Robin. We are not leaving without you." Starfire stated sadly. From her position behind Slade, Raven gave an impressed whistle.

"Talk about hardcore loyalty there." She commented. Slade said nothing, but the dangerous glare he sent right at her spoke more than a thousand words ever could. Despite herself, Raven found an unhealthy dose of cold sweat breaking out on her body.

"Shutting up now." Raven meekly added. As Slade turned his attention back to the Titans while strolling up to Robin, Raven let out a quiet sigh of relief. _'Dodged the bullet on that one.'_

"How very touching, but Robin doesn't need any friends." and with that, Slade pressed the button, and the probes went to work on the Titans. A nearby device that housed more of the probes began crackling with energy as well.

"This is the price for disobedience, Robin." Slade stated as the Titans crumbled to the floor in pain. "Now do as I command, attack!"

But Robin never did attack, he just stared in sadness at his friends. He was truly conflicted; if he wanted his friends to survive then he would need to attack them, but they had made it blatantly clear that they would not abandon him here.

They would stay and fight for him, even if it cost them their lives. That was how strong their ties were, and nothing Slade did would sever them. _'They would sacrifice themselves for me, it's only right that I do the same for them.'_

"No." was all Robin said before he ran away from Slade, his goal within his line of sight.

"Robin!" Slade shouted, having guessed what he was about to do. But he was already too late. With one giant leap, Robin grabbed hold of the device that produced the probes. Even as painful surges of energy ravaged his body, he stubbornly clung to it. As he held onto it, his bloodstream became infected with the same probes as his friends.

Finally, the energy proved too much for him and he was sent flying away from the device. A new monitor sprang to life, displaying Robin's vital signs. With shaky legs, Robin staggered back to his feet as the probes began the same work on him that they were doing to his friends.

Slowly, he began to approach Slade, who in honor of his usual calmness looked as untroubled as ever.

"New deal, Slade. If I lose my friends, you lose your apprentice." Robin stated to the one-eyed madman. Slade's one eye narrowed at Robin. This did not go according to his plan.

"And I know how you hate to lose." There was the tiniest trace of smugness in that last statement, but whatever humor Robin had quickly evaporated as he collapsed to his knees in pain.

Slade meanwhile was staring down on his apprentice, his thoughts unreadable behind that mask of his. His hand gripped the trigger he wore around his wrist. For several truly agonizing moments (for the Titans at least) Slade did nothing else. Then, without warning, he tore the trigger off his wrist and threw it away.

The probes immediately shut off in response. Robin let out a relieved breath as the pain began to subside. But Slade was now beyond the point of livid, he was absolutely and insanely furious!

With a rage-filled roar, he brought his boot down with all his might on Robin. But the nimble hero not only evaded it, but managed to catch it as well. Robin could not help but smile tauntingly as Slade feebly tried to tug his leg free.

The next instant, Slade was sent flying back by a powerful strike from Robin. But the pain had only just begun for the villain. There were still four more who wanted to vent their anger on him.

"Titans, go!" Robin shouted. Beat Boy slashed him across the chest as a tiger, Cyborg and Starfire did a combo blast that sent him careening into the air and Argent finished it up with a crimson fist that grabbed hold of his leg and slammed him like a whip back into the floor.

Robin finished it all up with a spinning kick right on his mask, cracking it up even further. As Slade collapsed to his knees, the black half of his mask fell off. Though none of the Titans had time to get a glimpse of what lay beneath it before Slade covered it up with his hand.

"It's over, Slade." Robin announced grimly, standing ready to deliver another blow if need be. It was at that point that Cyborg realized one important factor.

"Where did Raven go?"

That single question put the whole team on edge. If Raven was unaccounted for, it always spelled trouble. Trouble came this time in the form of fully automatic fire at Robin, who narrowly evaded the hail of bullets.

Slade turned to where the bullets originated from to find Raven standing at a nearby exit with an AK-47 in her hands.

"This party's over, Slade! Time to hightail it out of here!" she shouted as she let loose with another barrage of bullets. While normally he hated it when others ordered him around, Slade had to admit that Raven was right here. It was time for a retreat.

With that in mind, he used Raven's cover fire to run up to another one of his devices.

"Another day, Robin." He shouted as he activated the self-destruct sequence to his lair. "Another day."

The lights suddenly went out, plunging the whole lair into darkness. A few red light flickered on and off at random intervals. Slade had already disappeared, but as the lair began crumbling around them, Robin caught sight of Raven as she was about to make her escape.

She was too far away for Robin to stop her, but she must have felt his eyes on her as she stopped and turned towards him. Their eyes met each other from across the lair, neither saying anything to the other. They did not need to, their eyes spoke the same message to the other one; _Next time. _

The red light temporarily flickered off for a few seconds, and when they turned on again, Raven was gone. Vanished into the darkness yet again.

"Let's go home." Robin said to his team as they made their escape.

* * *

Finally back at the tower, the Titans were working hard on removing the probes from their bodies, effectively ending this chapter in their lives.

"Am I done yet?!" of course, the process was a slow one and quite uncomfortable, given the amount of devices strapped to your body. Beast Boy certainly did not enjoy it, as testified by his muffled protest from earlier.

"That's it, y'all. The Teen Titans are officially probe free." Cyborg announced happily. Beast Boy instantly sprung up from his seat like a jack-in-the-box with a victorious shout.

"Go Beast Boy! You're probe-less! No probes now! Go Beast Boy! Go Beast Boy! Get funk yeeaaah!" that would be his ridiculous victory song coupled with an equally ridiculous victory dance.

"Hey guys, now that we've actually beaten Slade for real this time, shouldn't we be celebrating or something?" Argent suddenly asked curiously. Both Cyborg's and Beast Boy's faces lit up like a pair of Christmas trees at the thought.

"All you can eat…" Cyborg began.

"… Free form…" Beast Boy continued.

"… Breakfast explosion!" they finished together. Argent was already looking like she was regretting she ever said anything.

"Me and my big mouth." She muttered to herself before she was dragged off by the two boys towards the kitchen. Left behind in the living room were Robin and Starfire. The aforementioned girl was sitting on the couch with a forlorn expression on her face.

"Everything okay?" Robin asked gently as he sat down next to her. Starfire meanwhile did not look up and continued to stare at the floor.

"I am... sorry." She suddenly said, catching Robin completely off guard.

"You're sorry? For what?" he asked in confusion. The way he saw it, he should be the one to apologize, not the other way around.

"When things were bad, there was a moment where I truly believed that you were… like Slade. I doubted you, and for that I am sorry." Starfire admitted shamefully. Robin looked at her sadly, not because of what she had said, but because she felt the need to apologize.

"I doubted myself, Star. Focused, serious, determined. As much as I hate to admit it, he and I are kind of alike." Robin admitted grimly. "But there's one big difference between me and Slade."

There he paused to look Starfire right in the eyes, a happy smile on his face. "He doesn't have any friends."

At this, Starfire too gave a happy smile. But their little moment together was interrupted by what sounded like a pair of pigs devouring their food supply. The truth was probably not that far away.

"Who wants tofu waffles?" Beast Boy asked in a sing-song voice. Cyborg was instantly in his face with an irritated look in his eyes.

"Man, nobody wants tofu waffles." He stated.

"I do! Pass me the soya milk." Beast Boy retorted.

"I'm telling you, you're not getting anywhere near the soy milk." Cyborg said.

"Man, pass me the soya milk!"

"Is there any meat in the tofu?"

"No, there's no meat in tofu, it's tofu!"

"Well, nobody wants it."

Does this form of argument sound familiar to you, dear reader?

"By the way, guys. I have been meaning to ask you this, but how did you find me so fast?" Robin suddenly asked curiously. The moment his question had left his mouth, both teens stopped their bickering to look at him with confused expressions.

"You mean you didn't call for us?" Cyborg asked hesitantly. Robin raised a surprised eyebrow.

"No. Why do you ask?" he questioned. Cyborg looked around the kitchen at first, as if he expected the answer to pop out of one of the cabinets.

"Well, we had absolutely no idea where to look for you at first, but then we found that your locator had been turned on again. It led us straight to you. We thought that it was you calling for help." Cyborg admitted.

Robin's eyes widened in surprise at that. Someone had turned on his locator? But who could have…

The answer suddenly struck Robin like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.

"Should we look into it?" Cyborg asked. At first, Robin said nothing, but then his mouth began to bend itself into the form of a small smile.

"No, let it be. It's probably nothing anyway." Robin said in a hugely knowing manner.

* * *

_And that's the end of season one! But not the end of this story! Many have been asking me how far this story will go, and I'm here to answer you now that this story will go all the way. From season 1 to season 5, Raven will rock on!_

_Of course, I'll skip over a few episodes that I can't incorporate this version of Raven into, as well as adding my own custom made ones here and there. _


	11. Chapter 11: How Long is Forever?

_Alright, Before I begin this chapter, I would very much like to address a small matter. I have noticed that many have been asking me if I will incorporate a romance in this story. Well. I am here to tell you that the answer is yes. But that will only come later on in the story. However, for the fun of it, I have put in a really big teaser in this chapter on who Raven will be paired with. So enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 11: How Long is Forever**

The Chinese military genius Sun Tzu once said "Know your enemy and know yourself, and in a 100 battles you will never be in peril". Well, Raven knew that in close quarters, her strength lied with a sword, while her enemies' lied in hand-to-hand.

To gain the edge, she needed a sword. Problem was, that boneheaded bird boy broke her beloved broadsword last time they battled. It would have been fairly easy to acquire a replacement for herself, but she was not too keen on just grabbing a new sword.

If there was one thing Raven liked to do, it was upgrade her arsenal when flaws in her old one became apparent. And Robin had already demonstrated that a regular sword was just not good enough in the long run against him and his team. She therefore needed a better sword, one that did not break so easily.

But that took some serious digging on her part. Hacking databases, raiding storages, visiting the black market, bribing the mob. She did all of this and more. Some might say that she was taking the task way too seriously, but Raven preferred to see it as being strongly motivated.

And it had paid off in the end. After weeks of searching, she had finally found something that might suit her needs. It was an old relic, dating back hundreds of years, but the data on it indicated that it was a sword that had seen service for generations.

Perfect for her.

With her goal set up, Raven had already armed up for an excursion into Jump City. If she was fast enough, maybe she could avoid a full out brawl with the Teen Titans. Not that she planned to back down if the situation occurred. Raven was just about to exit the base when her current one eyed employer stopped her.

"Where are you going?" Slade asked without ever even turning around, keeping his eyes locked on the numerous screens he was standing in front of. Behind his back, Raven glanced at him.

"Personal business in the city." Raven answered back neutrally, but was already tensing up. She may be in Slade's employment, but that did not mean that he could control every aspect of her life. And she was more than willing to use her fists and guns to remind him of that if push came to shove.

When it truly came down to it, there was only one person in existence that Raven truly served. And that was herself.

"Very well. Don't take too long." Was all he said on the matter. No further words came from Raven, who had already slipped out. Only then did Slade turn around to cast a quick glance at where the exit lay before, with a disappointed sigh, he turned back to the screens.

She had such potential in her. Her fighting skills were easily on par with Robin, as long as she had a weapon in hand. She never shied away from spilling blood to complete her assignment, nor did she baulk from using underhanded tactics to win. But what she truly had that trumped Robin was her lack of emotional ties to others. She relied on no one but herself.

With Robin far out of his grasps, Slade had once again cast his eye out in search of a new apprentice. It came as no small surprise that his eye quickly landed on Raven. Seeing her in action, subtly testing skills with his missions, Slade was certain that she was a perfect candidate. Better yet, she was already playing for his team.

Another disappointed sight slipped out from Slade. But once again he had been denied. As Slade had approached Raven with his proposal a few weeks ago, she had showed absolutely no interest in accepting it. Raven had made it clear that she was merely is employee, and that was how it was going to stay.

She had said that she was only here for the money, but Slade had easily seen through that. He had always been a master of deducing someone's motives. And her's were as clear as daylight. She had absolutely no interest in the money, they were nothing more than an excuse for her. No, what she truly craved was freedom.

She wanted to be free from the world. Free to go where she chose. Free to live as she pleased. Rules and laws were merely obstructions to her, and she was determined to not allow them to stop her. Slade could admire her for that. Sadly, that also meant that she was adamantly against subjecting fully to his will.

And this time, there was no obvious weakness present that Slade could use to force her under his wing. Here, he was forced to play the long-term game. He kept her around, paid her to do his dirty work, supplied her with all the weapons she desired, developed new tech for her to use and discreetly helped her training. He was, in a way, bribing her into slowly becoming his apprentice.

But in the end, it was worth it in his eye. Even should she never fully join him, it would still be worth the investment as she would always provide reliable assistance and professional skill. But until it was clear whether she really was beyond his reach or not, Slade would keep looking for another apprentice. It never pained to be prepared.

In the end, whether Raven became his apprentice or not, she would still prove to be of utmost usefulness to the one-eyed madman.

* * *

The sun was barely peeking over the horizon as the new day began, and already trouble was brewing. This time, it was at Jump City museum. It was still closed and would not open up until later during the day. But that certainly did not stop a wormhole from being opened right in front of an exhibit; a strange clock device.

And out from the portal stepped a middle-aged man with a beard and goatee and wearing a golden and highly futuristic-looking suit of armor. Though you had to admit, his entrance was anything but subtle here.

"Hey, stop!" and discretion was obviously not ranked highly on his skill set, as he had barely been in the building for about a second or two before he was discovered by two guards.

"Stop yourselves." The thief countered as he waved his hand at them. The poor guards had never even the chance to blink before they were both incased in a block of ice each. Guess this was why he never bothered with stealth.

"I didn't journey back in time one hundred years to squabble, I came to steal." The time-travelling thief stated as he turned back towards his prize, a greedy gleam in his eyes.

"The Clock of Eternity." Catchy name for a mere clock. "Valuable in the past, priceless in the future." This looked to be a rewarding day for him.

"Okay, they seriously need to turn the AC down around here if this happens on a daily basis." A female voice suddenly remarked from behind the thief. Spinning around in surprise, he found Raven standing next to the frozen guards while idly poking one of them. The moment his eyes landed on her, his posture relaxed and he straightened up again.

"Ah, you must be the mercenary known as Raven. I've read a lot about you in historical archives. I'm Warp, I'm a big fan of your work." He commented casually. Raven raised an unseen eyebrow under her hood.

"Time traveler?" she asked rhetorically while her eyes took in his equipment. Yep, definitively too advanced for this age. Not that it mattered to her, what he was doing here was none of her business.

"Well, you obviously have business to take care of, and I have mine. So why don't we just go our separate ways and avoid a brawl here?" she questioned jovially, even as her right hand slowly crept towards her holstered gun. Warp remained oblivious to that.

"What you seek is right over there." He stated while jerking his thumb towards a nearby exhibit. Turning to where he was pointing, Raven saw her prize. Dismissing her suspicion on how he knew what she was after (Helloooo! Time traveler in the house? To him, her theft had already happened), she strode up to it.

The object which she had come to claim was a broadsword. Its blade was made of black steel that swallowed every shred of light that tried to touch it. The crossguard on it was shaped like a pair of golden eagle wings spreading out as if in preparation for the majestic bird's leap into the air. A blood red ruby was etched into the middle of the crossguard, glowing radiantly as the light reflected on it.

"The Sword of Damnation. Forged by pagan cults during the 14:th century as a way of combatting the Holy Inquisition. Legend has it that the blade was made from a rock that fell from the heavens and was cooled in the blood of daemons." Raven explained mostly to herself as she ran a hand over the piece of glass separating her from the blade. "How fitting then that I should own it."

But before either one of them could claim the object that brought them here, a birdarang impacted against the ground between the two thieves. A warning shot. And the one who fired it was about to reveal himself.

"Sorry, but these items are not up for sale. Try the souvenir shop at the entrance." Robin stated as he and his team stared down on the two of them from the floor above. But they were met by a pair of smug grins from below.

"The Teen Titans. This is a treat. I've read all about you as well in historical archives." As the time traveling thief kept talking, two laser guns sprang up from his shoulder pads. "And now you're all history!"

Without further Avado, the futuristic guy opened fire on the five heroes.

"Titans, go!" Robin shouted as the Titans scattered out of the way of the twin blasts of energy that obliterated their earlier spot. But as the battle commenced, Robin quickly lost interest in Warp. His eyes were upon Raven, who was using the distraction caused by Warp to retrieve the sword.

She had just removed the glass case when Robin came down with a kick into her side, knocking her away. Robin was about to press on, but Raven drew a Desert Eagle and fired on him. He was forced to take cover.

But the moment she stopped firing, Robin sprinted towards her, knocked the gun out of her hand and aimed a roundhouse kick at her head. She caught the attack and threw him over her right into another glass case. He was instantly back on his feet and rushing at her again.

"Well, well, well. Aren't we eager here?" Raven commented tauntingly as she ducked under a fist, then sidestepped a kick, before countering with an elbow to his chest. "Did you really miss me that much?"

His way of answering was with a spinning kick that Raven back flipped to avoid. The moment her feet made contact with the floor again, she had already primed a grenade and threw it at Robin. He barely got out of the way by leaping forward, but was caught unprepared by a fist from Raven into his guts, knocking the wind out of him.

But he grasped her arm and preformed a judo throw on her, smashing her into the floor. Before she could recover, Robin straddled her and pinned her to the floor. But instead of becoming angry, like most villains would, she just smiled that damn seductive smirk of hers.

"Got tired of foreplay, did you? You should have just asked." She purred as she leaned closer towards his face. "Not that I mind, I like boys who are straightforward with their needs."

It had the desired effect on Robin. His face flushed a deep shade of crimson and he temporarily lost his focus. That was all the time Raven needed as she wrapped her legs around his waist and slammed him into the ground. Raven was instantly on her feet again, a taunting smirk on her lips.

"Never underestimate the power of a female." She stated smugly. Robin merely gritted his teeth and flipped back up on his feet and rushed at her again. He kicked, he punched, he tried sweeping her legs under her, he punched again, de dodged a counterattack, he leaped back to throw an explosive disc.

Raven dodged and threw a trio of shurikens at him. He deflected them before ducking under a fist and then leaping clear of a kick. He stepped forward and thrust a knee into her before knocking her back with a well-aimed punch to her face.

"That felt most satisfying." He commented quietly to himself. But Raven was not down for the count just yet as she flipped back on her feet with her second Desert Eagle drawn. Three rapid shots impacted against his chest, thankfully the Kevlar held. Though it still hurt like a bitch and distracted him long enough for Raven to close the distance and ram both her fists into him.

But he ignored the pain and tried to sweep her legs from underneath her. She jumped over the attack, but was unprepared for the haymaker that followed and was knocked flat on her back.

"Damn, I really wish I had a sword right about now." She grumbled painfully from where she lay. With the threat neutralized, Robin turned his attention back to Warp. Just in time to see the time traveling villain opening up a wormhole for himself.

"Ta ta, Titans. I have enjoyed our time together, but I got a very bright future ahead of me." He taunted just before he was about to step through the wormhole. But Starfire was not about to let him go that easily and with a furious shout, she flew right at him. Both of them went tumbling into the wormhole as a result.

Robin tried to desperately leap after his friend, but he was too slow and the wormhole closed up before he could reach it. He and the other Titans were left to stare in horror at the spot previously occupied by the portal.

"Starfire!" Robin called out in horror, as if he expected her to hear him. But it was too little, too late. Starfire was gone.

* * *

Or so they thought at least. As in reality, Starfire was tumbling through space and time, locked in a wrestling match with Warp. Year after year they passed in the span of a few seconds, yet neither was paying that much attention to that. They were both preoccupied with each other.

"Let go!" Warp protested angrily as he tried to shove Starfire away from him. But she stubbornly held on.

"You have endangered my friends and ruined Glorfag!" Starfire proclaimed furiously. Warp looked temporarily confused by the last tidbit of information, but it soon turned to panic when Starfire's struggles grew.

"Stop! If you damage the suit before we reach my future… NO!" was about all the warning he had time to get out before Starfire managed to tear off a disc that was implanted in his chestplate.

There was a blinding flash of light after that, and the next thing Starfire knew she was freefalling from the sky. Her sudden descent came to a cold stop when she plunged headfirst into a pile of snow. Shivering from the unexpected cold, Starfire peered around at her surroundings.

"What just happened? Why is it cold? And where are my…" the last question died on her lips when her eyes landed on the dark and worn down Titans Tower she had landed outside of. "… Friends?"

Stepping inside what used to be her home, Starfire found the place was a wreck. Parts of the roof were missing, creating holes that spanned entire floors. Junk and debris lay scattered everywhere. The place looked as if it had been abandoned for years.

"Friends? Hello?" she called out, hoping someone would answer her. No answer came. Finally, she reached what used to be the living room. The doors would not open to her, so she was forced to pry them open with her strength. She slowly walked inside, her eyes taking in the wreckage that used to be a living room.

Something suddenly hit her boot and a jiggling noise accompanied it. Peering down, Starfire found the pearls she had dropped to the floor earlier, when she had tried to celebrate Glorfag. With sad and confused eyes, she picked one of them up from the floor, only to see it crumble into dust in her hands. The ravages of time having been too much for it.

But a red light, almost like an eye, suddenly sprang to life behind her. Starfire spun around with a startled gasp, but somewhat calmed down when she saw it.

"Cyborg?" she questioned hopefully as she approached while activating a starbolt for light. "Oh, Cyborg. Thank goodness you are…"

That was when she discovered that it was not her mechanical friend, but what looked more like some kind of mechanical spider. Starfire's first reaction was to yelp in fright, right before she blasted the thing apart with her starbolt. But more of the same infernal devices began popping up all around her.

In desperate fright, she fired off starbolt after starbolt, obliterating the machines one after the other. But it seemed someone was still living in the tower, and said person had just noticed that he had uninvited guests.

"Yo!" a very familiar voice shouted angrily from the doorway, right before Cyborg came charging in while brandishing a steel pipe as a club. "Who's up here blasting my…"

Whatever else he had planned to say, it got burned right out of his systems when he caught sight of who it was that had broken in. "Star?"

Starfire was equally shocked by the appearance of her friend. He looked so… old. His robotic parts were no longer as shiny and polished, now they looked worn, beaten and cracked. His whole body looked like it might collapse together any second now. Definitively not how she remembered him from just a few moments ago back at the museum.

"Starfire. I don't believe it. You… you haven't aged a day." He said in obvious disbelief as he stepped closer towards her. Starfire gently laid her hands on his cheeks.

"Cyborg, what has happened? Why are you…" she began but found herself hesitating from uttering the last bit.

"… Old?" Cyborg finished for her knowingly. Despite himself, he could not stop a sad smile from spreading across his face. It quickly vanished though again.

"Well, that's what happens to folks when you go away for 20 years." He revealed grimly as he walked past her towards the window. Starfire was left smacked senseless by the revelation.

"20 years?!" she burst out in shock. Had she been gone for that long?

"You disappeared, Star. That battle with Warp, that was a long time ago. You fell through a wormhole." Cyborg explained tiredly as he tried to clean some of the mess up before he just gave up and stared out at the city. "Welcome to the future."

"The future? But…" she brought out the piece of Warp's suit she had managed to tear off in their little battle. "… I damaged his technology."

Cyborg was quick to pick it up and inspect it in wonder. "Warp was planning on jumping ahead 100 years, right? Looks like you stopped him at 20." He handed it back to Starfire.

"Still, I am confused. Please, why are you in disrepair?" Starfire asked in concern, truly pained to see her once proud friend reduced to such a state. Cyborg looked just as pained when the question was brought up.

"Let's just say things haven't gone so well since you left." He said as he turned around and walked absentmindedly towards the windows again.

"But what of the other Titans? Where are our friends?" Starfire asked. At least that had to be good news. At least she hoped that. Sadly, she was about to be disappointed.

"The Titans… are history, Star. Your friends… aren't friends anymore." Cyborg revealed with a heavy heart. None of the Titans had ever liked to be the bearer of bad news to Starfire, the most naïve of them all.

"No. you are wrong. This… everything is wrong! How could such terrible things…" that was when a thought seemed to strike Starfire as she suddenly began glaring at the piece of tech stolen from Warp that she was still clutching in her hand. "Warp. His interference in the past must have changed our future."

A logical conclusion, in its own way. But Cyborg was not that confident concerning the accuracy of that statement.

"Star, I don't think…"

"He caused all this badness to happen! He made this technology, and he is the one who can make things right!" Starfire rudely interrupted with her idea on how to fix this. She quickly flew up to Cyborg.

"We must find Warp. You will help me?" she practically pleaded with him. A deep look of sadness instantly appeared on his face.

"I wish I could, but my last power cell burned out years ago." He explained while staring at a piece of machinery that he was connected to via a multitude of cables. "I've tried adapting this new stuff to my old circuits but… I can't leave the tower, Star. I'm obsolete."

He was silent for a while after that, and Starfire found no suitable words to utter at this hour.

"Maybe one of the others can help. I can tell you how to find BB and Argent." Cyborg suddenly offered, trying to offer some assistance at least.

"And Robin?"

"We lost touch a long time ago. If you're looking for him, you're on your own."

* * *

_(Alright, since we have all seen what happens when Starfire meets the other Titans, except for Argent since she was not a part of the real episode, and since I am eager to get to the really juicy bits, I will just skip ahead here.)_

This was not happening, this could not be real. Her friends, her strong friends, had all been reduced to mere shadows of their former selves. It was truly shocking, and sorrowful, to see them all brought so low with the passage of time.

So occupied was she by her thoughts as she walked down the street, that she barely got out of the way from a pair of laser blasts aimed at her. And who fired them exactly? Warp. And he was really pissed now.

"What's the matter, dear? Have I come at a bad time?" he asked mockingly as his shoulder mounted blasters opened fire again. Not liking the idea of just sitting in the open like a target, Starfire took to the air in pursuit of her opponent. She tried blasting him with her starbolts, but they just bounced harmlessly off his personal shielding.

Growing tired of this pointless battle, Warp just waved his hand at Starfire, encasing her in a block of ice. With her power of flight gone, the poor girl plummeted back towards the ground. Her ice prison shattered when it made contact with the ground, and Starfire was left barely conscious in a small crater.

She shakily got on her knees, groaning in pain, while Warp approached her confidently. In his view, he had already won the fight, the girl was just too stubborn to see it. Starfire's eyes began to glow green as she made ready to continue the fight, but it was only then she caught sight of a vast change in her adversary.

"You have also become old." She commented. And it was true. Warp, the once young and strong man, now looked like a fifty year old man. Apparently pointing the fact out to him was not something he appreciated as his face scrunched up in anger.

"That's what happens when someone steals my vortex regulator." He stated as he held out his hand. "The regulator, if you please? I really must get back to my future."

His attempts a politeness was meet with a furious expression from Starfire as she held up the regulator with a starbolt powered up and ready to turn the device into dust.

"If you ever wish to see your future, you will repair the damage done to my past!" the demand was supposed to put fear and compliance into Warp, not certainly the confusion and amusement he currently had.

"Damage? Silly girl. There's nothing wrong with you past. One cannot damage history, because history cannot be changed." He revealed to a shell-shocked Starfire, probably enjoying it as well.

He held the Clock of Eternity up in plain sight as he continued. "I went back in time to steal this, because history says it disappeared. And history says it disappeared, because I went back to steal it. Past, present, future. It's all written in stone, my dear."

The news devastated Starfire. This future, where her friends were broken and divided, was impossible to change. It would come to pass, no matter what she did. The fighting spirit went out of her and she lowered her attack, allowing Warp to retrieve his piece of technology.

"And nothing you do can ever change it." He added as he aimed a wrist mounted blaster at her. A dark shape suddenly tackled him away from Starfire and threw him into a nearby alley. Warp impacted heavily against the wall and fell painfully to his knees. That had to be a real killer for a man his age.

The dark shape suddenly whipped out a trio of discs and threw them at Warp. The projectiles exploded on impact, bathing the time traveler in flames. The dark shape was already leaping to attack again when the flames dissipated, revealing an unharmed Warp behind his shield.

Seeing the imminent danger, Warp leaped to the side before rolling up to his knees with his wrist mounted blaster aimed at his attacker.

"No more heroes interfering in my affairs!" he snarled out. He never got a chance to fire before a shuriken came flying in from nowhere and sliced off his weapon. Before long, a blue cloaked individual carrying a very familiar broadsword landed on the snow covered ground with a soft thud.

"Then how about a mercenary, grandpa?" a feminine, and highly familiar voice asked from beneath the hood.

Warp was never given a chance to respond as the cloaked woman leaped at him, delivering a devastating barrage of kicks to his chest and stomach. Warp's shoulder mounted blasters unfolded yet again, but he was never given a chance to fire before the woman vanished from sight.

"What?!" he burst out in surprise, right before he felt a fist smash his face, at least he thought it was a fist. A blow to the stomach followed, then one to his back, then one to his left knee, then one to his right side and finally an uppercut to his chin that sent him flying into a wall… again.

With a weak groan, Warp staggered back to his feet, just as his assailant reappeared in front of him again, this time holding her broadsword in her hands and pointing it right at him. Now that Starfire got a better look at it from the sidelines, she recognized it. It was the same sword Raven had been after twenty years ago.

But did that mean that…

"What's the matter? Getting too old for this, old man?" the woman taunted, and all three that were present were sure beyond any doubt that she was smiling underneath that hood of hers.

"Another time, then." Warp grumbled out as he sunk into the ground, fleeing with his tail between his legs. With the imminent threat dealt with, the first figure that had shown up turned towards Starfire.

"It's good to see you again." that voice, it was unmistakable to Starfire. She could have recognized it anywhere, even if it sounded older than she remembered.

"Robin?" she questioned hopefully.

"I haven't used that name in a long time. Call me…" he began as finally stepped into the light, revealing long outgrown hair and black bodysuit with a blue bird emblazoned on its front. "… Nightwing."

Starfire stared in awe at her friend. He looked so much stronger than he ever did twenty years ago. It was unbelievable how he could have changed so much during that time.

"So it really is true, then. The prodigal son, or should I say daughter, has returned." The cloaked woman from before stated humorlessly as she approached them, having sheathed her sword along the way. Besides Starfire, Nightwing gave threatening growl from his throat.

"What the hell are you even doing here? Shouldn't you be off causing chaos somewhere?" he questioned. The woman merely laughed mockingly at him, completely unmoved by his hostility.

"Why, didn't know you cared so much, bird boy?" she countered playfully. Nightwing scowled.

"I thought I'd told you to stop calling me that! I'm over 30 years old, for crying out loud!" he burst out, eliciting more laughs from the so far unidentified woman.

"You could be over 60 for all I cared, I'll still remember you as that uptight little bird boy who could never keep a straight face from my teasing." She countered humorlessly. It was obvious she was enjoying this. The two continued trading jabs and insults with one another.

Starfire meanwhile was observing the whole scene in confusion. Who was this woman? It was obvious she had some form of connection with Nightwing, and there was something awfully familiar about her.

"Excuse me?" she finally interrupted the bickering par, causing both pair of eyes to be directed at her. "You seem to be very familiar with friend Nightwing, but who are you?"

The woman stared at her at first before a wide grin split her face underneath her hood. "You mean you don't recognize me? And after all those times I kicked your leader's butt."

As she said that, she lifted a hand and drew back her hood, to expose the face of the one person Starfire definitively had not expected to see.

"Raven?!" she burst out in surprise. It most certainly was her, even if she had undergone some changes. Her violet hair had grown way past her shoulders, and her face had become more angular and matured.

Now that Starfire also could get a better look at her attire, she found that Raven had ditched her old leotard and was now wearing a long sleeveless dress (same as in the comics). Knee high combat boots still adorned her feet and leather gloves that reached to her elbows were worn on her hands. Thick stockings covered up the upper parts of her legs while her cloak covered the exposed parts of her arms.

She was however still wearing the same belt with a pair of unknown sidearms holstered there. At the sight of Starfire's wide eyed expression, Raven burst out laughing.

"Oh man! You should… you should see the look on your face!" she managed to squeeze out between gales of laughter that finally forced her to bend over from exertion. At this, Starfire could not help but feel annoyance wash over her. Twenty years had passed, and Raven was still as infuriating as before.

Nightwing suddenly took a step forward, but was immediately forced to leap back to avoid a trio of x shaped shurikens that impaled the ground. Without warning, a nimble figure leaped down from the roof and landed in front of Raven.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Nightwing." A synthesized voice announced from the diminutive figure, and Starfire even rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing right.

"Red X?" she asked in shock. The figure certainly reminded her off Robin's criminal alter ego, but there were differences. This version had no cape for example, and the top of the mask was removed to allow a really dark shade of messy violet hair to spill out. Apart from those, and the height, this could very well have been him.

"The name's _Kid _X, lady!" the young boy corrected grumpily as he crossed his arms over his chest. Raven walked up next to the kid and chuckled lightly.

"Now, now. No need to be so rude, sweetie." She said playfully as she ruffled his hair, to his apparent great displeasure.

"Mom!" he whined loudly as he tried to swat her hand away, with no luck whatsoever. Raven just smiled fondly at him as she removed her hand. Starfire was staring wide eyed at Raven before shifting her eyes to Kid X and then back at Raven.

"Raven, is that child…?" she asked hesitantly. Raven's way of answering the unfinished question was by giving a conspiratorial grin.

"I would love to stay and chat some more, I've got some quality time with my family to catch up with." She said and before either Nightwing or Starfire could stop her, she pressed a button on her belt and vanished from sight along with the kid.

"I hate that woman." Nightwing grumbled under his breath.

* * *

_(And again, since I am in a bit of a hurry here, I will skip ahead here as well.)_

There had been a hectic time after their last encounter with Raven. Returning to Nightwing's base, sending a distress signal to all the Titans, tracking down Warp's sorry ass to Metro Art Technologies (conveniently located were the museum where it all started used to lay).

What had followed after that was a sound trashing of Warp, as each Titan had popped in along the way to give their own beating of the villain. Probably as a form of payback from twenty years ago.

In the end, Warp realized that he was hopelessly outmatched here and that it was time for a retreat. Luckily, his suit was now operational again and he could escape back to his own time. A wormhole sprang into life ahead of him and he made ready to step through. But in true supervillain style, he just had to have the last word.

"It seems my time has come!" he shouted back at the Titans. But Nightwing was not about to let him get away and threw a birdarang (at least I think that he calls these new versions that) right at him.

Warp threw his own flying disc in response, but it was sadly cut right in two by Nightwing's weapon. It flew straight and true and impacted against Warp's regulator, causing the whole thing to go haywire. Electricity sparked around Warp's form and he began shrinking.

No, not shrinking. De-aging, if such a word even existed. With each second, he just grew younger and younger, to his amounting horror if his panic filled shouts were anything to go by. Finally, there was apparently nothing left but an empty suit.

The team cautiously approached it and Beast Boy (Beast Man?) lifted up the chestplate, to expose the crying baby underneath. From grown man to toddler, how humiliating was that?

"Okay, I'm not changing any diapers." Beast Boy was quick to state in advance, lest he ended up with such a disgusting task. But they quickly lost interest in the toddler when they noticed the wormhole was growing smaller.

"Gotta get you home, come on." Cyborg said to Starfire as he stepped forward and picked up Warp's regulator. He connected it to his sonic cannon before he fired at the wormhole, forcing it open again.

"I'm redirecting the wormhole. Starfire, go!" he shouted to her. Starfire meanwhile turned her gaze to Nightwing, looking dejected, before slowly approaching the wormhole. She suddenly stopped and turned back towards her team.

"Please, must this really be our future?" she asked in sadness. She truly wished it could be changed, but how could she do it when she did not even know what went wrong in the first place? "Is there nothing I can do to change it?" she even sounded a bit desperate on that last part.

Nightwing suddenly walked up to her, staring deeply into her eyes. Starfire found herself captivated by him and just stood as still as a statue, staring back at him with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry, Star. There isn't time." He simply said before he placed the Clock of Eternity in her hands. With nothing else to say between them, Starfire stepped through the wormhole with a sad smile on her lips.

* * *

Back to present time, we find Warp right in the midst of stepping through his little wormhole.

"Ta ta, Titans. I have enjoyed our time together, but I got a very bright future ahead of me." He taunted just before he was about to step through the portal. But Starfire was not about to let him go that easily and with a furious shout, she flew right at him. Both of them went tumbling into the portal as a result.

Robin tried to desperately leap after his friend, but he was too slow and the wormhole closed up before he could reach it. He and the other Titans were left to stare in horror at the spot previously occupied by the portal.

"Starfire!" Robin called out in horror.

"Umm… where did she…" Beast Boy began asking, but was interrupted when a blue light suddenly began shining behind him and Cyborg. And when they turned around, they found the same wormhole Warp had created earlier. And out of it came Starfire. The team quickly gathered around her in shock.

"Star, what happened?" Robin asked as he stepped forward.

"History said it disappeared, but history was wrong." Starfire answered. The Titans merely looked at her in even greater amount of confusion, none of them getting what she was talking about.

"Uhhh… guys? I think we missed something important here." Argent suddenly stated. When the team looked to her for clarification, she pointed to where Raven laid. Or rather where she used to lie. Moreover, the sword she had been after, it was gone as well.

It seemed like Raven had taken the Titans' moment of distraction to slip away with her prize. No doubt she was already miles away by now.

"Aw man! She got away… _AGAIN!" _Cyborg burst out in irritation. Robin let out a groan from the discovery.

"I hate that girl." He grumbled under his breath.


	12. Chapter 12: Terra

**Chapter 12: Terra**

Ah, the desert. Such a dry and lifeless speck of land. No sign of civilization for miles, with the only residents being the local wildlife. It was truly a calm and peaceful place. Well, apart from the blonde haired girl who was running as fast as her thin legs could carry her. Now why would she run as if her life depended on it?

Simple, it did! She had a scorpion the size of a frigging bus chasing after her! On and on she ran, and just ahead he could see the outline of a T shaped tower. Neither knowing nor caring as to what it was, she doubled her efforts. All in vain, since the scorpion was still gaining ground. The chase led them both into a narrow ravine, but neither seemed to care.

Its massive stinger came down towards the girl, shattering the ground but missing its target who had leaped clear in the last minute. Though she was still sent flying from the shockwave. She bounced along the ground a few times before she finally came to a stop.

While disoriented from the blow, the girl still had enough awareness to notice that her butterfly-shaped hairpin (at least that is what I think it is called) had fallen out of her hair. She found it lying just a few feet from her. She tried reaching for it, but the stinger came down between her and the hairpin. She was forced to leave it behind and hightail it out of there.

Onward she ran, the scorpion always a few steps behind. But eventually she reached a dead end with a natural stone bridge going above. With fearful eyes, the girl turned back towards the scorpion, which was towering above her. She closed her eyes and turned away from the beast that was no doubt planning on turning her into a meal.

It was this scene that Robin and the Teen Titans came upon as they arrived at the top of the ravine, looking down upon the spectacle below. Of course, none of them were going to sit idly by and let a weak and defenseless girl get torn up.

"Titans, go!" that would have normally been the cue for the Titans to attack, but they became otherwise preoccupied with maintaining their balance when a sudden earthquake struck.

Down below, the girl was no longer covering in fright from the scorpion, but grinning while her eyes were suddenly glowing yellow. The stone bridge was suddenly broken loose from its foundation and lifted into the air, to the Titans great shock and wonder. The girl below had also raised her glowed hands, an indication that she was responsible.

With and almighty crash, she brought the stone bridge down upon the scorpion, crushing it. Its tail twitched for a bit in the air, before it finally figured out its body was dead. At which point it fell uselessly to the ground. Above, the Titans were now staring at the blonde haired girl in awe.

"She was not in trouble." Starfire observed in surprise.

"She was leading it into a trap." Cyborg added, equally surprised by the display.

"Question is…" Robin, ever the paranoid one, remarked, right before Beast Boy finished his question.

"Who is she?"

But they were not the only ones to have taken an interest in the girl, nor were they alone in catching her display. High above them all, in a cliff face, a dark shape stood in the comforting shadows of a cave, until he stepped into the light to expose the two-toned mask he always wore.

"Don't get too attached, my young friend. I saw her first." Slade stated with that cold voice of his that always sent chills up your spin. His eye never left the blonde girl in the canyon, even as a blue cloaked figure stepped up next to him.

"Another apprentice candidate?" Raven asked skeptically. Sure, she had seen the power the girl possessed, but that was not all to a person. Raven was sure beyond any doubt that her own power could swat this girl's away like a bug, not that she ever planned to test that theory. Her powers were staying buried, plain and simple.

"You disagree?" Slade asked calmly without even turning to look at her, seemingly not paying her any attention. Some might find it offensive, but Raven was used to that from Slade. In fact, she had learned to actually be on higher guard when he actually _did _pay attention to her.

"I know she has some really awesome powers, but come on! The girl is practically a walking stick! If the wind gets any stronger, it might snap her in two." Raven pointed out while gesturing towards the girl, who by now had turned the very ground she was standing upon into a personal elevator to reach the top of the canyon.

Once at the Titans level, she gracefully leaped off to land right in front of the still awestruck team.

"What? Haven't you guys seen a superhero before?" she asked in amused sarcasm. The Titans were still looking at her as if they were unsure they had really seen what they had seen. Above them, Raven let out a small snort of amusement.

"I like her already." She commented. Down below, it seemed like Robin was the first one to snap out of whatever stupor that had the Titans in its grip as he approached the girl with his arm outstretched.

"I'm Robin. We're the…"

"Teen Titans! Rock on, that's cool to meet you guys!" the girl interrupted before pointing at herself. "I'm Terra." Her finger then moved to each Titan in turn. "And you're Cyborg, Argent, Starfire and…"

"Boy Beast!" Beast Boy interrupted enthusiastically before he realized his error and tried to correct it. "I mean Bath Booth! No!"

While obviously amused by his antics, if that mischievous smile was anything to go by, Terra decided to spare the changeling from further humiliation at the hand of his own mouth.

"Beast Boy?" she offered helpfully. For some reason, that simple question caused Beast Boy to shriek like he had just spotted his ex-girlfriend before morphing into a turtle and seek cover within its shell. Terra could not hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.

"Dude! He's hilarious!" she managed to get out between laughs. Above, Raven raised a surprised eyebrow.

"I guess that if you looked at it statistically, someone had to find that buffoon funny."

And back down below, it seemed that Beast Boy was just as surprised as Raven.

"Hilarious? Me? Really?"

The answer he received was a wink from Terra, at which point he morphed back into human form with heart shaped eyes. Seeing as he was prone to fall over at any second now, Cyborg stepped forward to catch his friend. But when he finally did fall over, Cyborg stepped aside and let him fall. Mentally, he was only thinking one thought. _'Ole!'_

Suddenly, Starfire came flying right up to Terra's face with a barrage of questions.

"Curiosity abounds. Please, where do you come from? How did you get here? What is your favorite color? Do you wish to be my friend?" with each question asked, Starfire got even closer to Terra, who was forced to lean back, being slightly unnerved by the alien's behavior. But hey, who wouldn't be?

"Uhhm… Earth, walked, red and sure." Terra answered hesitantly. My guess, she instantly regretted her last answer when Starfire scooped her up in one of her infamous hugs. If those bone crushing enveloping techniques of hers could even be labeled as hugs.

"Hello, new friend!" Starfire squealed happily as she squeezed the living daylight, along with everything else inside of her, out of her.

"How's it going?" Terra managed to choke out, silently wondering if this was a new form of execution method. Well, she could sure as hell testify to its effectiveness. If she survived it, that is. Thankfully, Starfire let go of her, allowing her to get some much needed oxygen back into her lungs.

Who knew friendship could be so deadly?

"Sooo, what brings such a cool little chick to our big groovy city, huh?" Beast Boy asked with a small tint of red to his cheeks.

"I go where the wind take me, you know? I get to see new places, meet new people, stop a few bad guys here and there." Terra answered casually with a laid-back attitude.

"Cool." Was about all that Beast Boy could say in response. Behind the two, the rest of the team expressed their thoughts as well.

"Fascinating."

"Well alright."

Those were the answers from Starfire and Cyborg. However, both Robin and Argent did not share a positive verbal answer. Instead they gave each other silent looks of skepticism. They had both found something slightly off with both this girl and her reasons for coming.

"You mean, you don't have a home?" Robin asked suspiciously, whether it was his concern or his paranoia talking was up for debate. Terra seemed to be completely untroubled by the question.

"The Earth is my home. I've been crashing in a cave on the other side of the hill." She answered while pointing a thumb behind her. That, however, was not an answer that Starfire could tolerate as she was, once again, up in the girl's face.

"Unacceptable! I cannot permit my new friend to slumber in a lonely cave of darkness." She insisted. Terra merely looked at her in confusion.

"I have a flashlight." She stated, but was ignored and promptly grabbed by Starfire and dragged towards Titans Tower, even as she tried to stop the alien princess. She might as well have been trying to stop an elephant.

"You will stay with us." Starfire firmly stated, leaving no room to argument. That did not stop Terra from at least trying.

"Really, I'm…" her attempts were once again ignored, and Cyborg even joined in by pushing her along.

"Come on, we got plenty of room." He said.

"Yeah, and I can make you laugh some more." Beast Boy offered before he adorned a mask consisting of a pair of glasses, an oversized nose, grey bushy eyebrows and equally bushy moustache (Where the hell did he get all that from?). "I'm hilarious, remember?" Terra gave a nervous chuckle at that.

"Well, I guess I could stay one night." She finally relented, causing all three Titans to cry out in joy before continuing to drag her towards the Tower. Seemingly forgotten, both Robin and Argent were left behind at the scene. Not that they minded that much. Robin was kneeling where the stone bridge used to stand, analyzing the ground critically.

"Everything alright?" Argent asked.

"Not sure." Robin answered. Above them, Slade retreated back into the shadow of the cave, silently beckoning Raven to follow.

"Something just doesn't feel right." Robin confessed before he rose up and walked back to the tower with Argent. When they had left, the piece of land they had previously occupied crumbled away like dust.

* * *

Staying with the Titans had been harder than Terra had expected. It had been so long since she had enjoyed the comforts of civilization, having spent so much time on the road and in the wilderness. But she could have easily adapted to those things, she always does. But the bomb had really been dropped on her when she overheard that they wanted her to train with them.

Training meant testing, testing meant using her powers, using her powers meant a great risk of losing control and losing control meant bye bye Titans Tower. If they were lucky and the whole city did not get dragged along as well. That was not something Terra felt she could risk, so it was better to run while she still could.

That was how we find her now, sitting on the shores of the little island with her belongings packed in the dead of night. But a small amount of uncertainty regarding her decision kept her rooted where she was, chucking stones out into the bay with her powers to watch them bounce along the surface.

"So, I'm guessing the couch was too lumpy?" the unmistakable voice of Beast Boy asked jokingly as he came to sit next to Terra. As she launched another stone, Beast Boy tried to imitate her success with a stone of his own. It hit the water and sunk like a… well, like a stone.

The poor guy looked completely deflated by his failure, and it did not help that Terra began giggling at his misfortune. She at least had the decency to cover her mouth in a vain attempt to stop the giggling.

She gave him another stone ad Beast Boy tried again, this time with greater success. His ego restored, Beast Boy tried to flex his muscles with a cocky smirk. Terra just let out an unimpressed sigh. Beast Boy proceeded with sticking his tongue out at her.

That started a weird contest between them on who could make the ugliest face at the other. This prompted a fit of laughter from both of them. Of course, all good things had to come to an end sooner or later.

"I can't stay." Terra admitted sadly.

"Why not?" Beast Boy asked in confusion. Terra hesitated at that. Could she tell him the truth? Could she tell him about the heavy burden she carried?

"Places to go, people to see." The answer; hell no. so she lied instead. Of course, a sharp mind would have easily registered her hasty way of replying, as if she was covering something up. Thankfully for her, Beast Boy was anything but sharp.

"Come on, you know you wanna stay. We've got free cable, indoor plumbing and all the tofu you can eat." Beast Boy pleaded with her, counting down the benefits on his fingers. Terra could not stop herself from giggling at the last part.

"Tofu? You sure know how to charm a girl." She said teasingly as she tucked her knees under her chin while smiling at him. "I guess I could hang out for one more day."

That caused Beast Boy to leap into the air with a victorious shout of "Awesome!".

"We're gonna have so much fun!" he burst out the moment he made contact with the ground again, causing Terra to smile fondly at him. "And I can't wait to see what your powers do when you really cut them loose."

And just like that, her smile was gone and before she could stop herself, her eyes glowed yellow and the stone Beast Boy was sitting on got launched into the air. It quickly crashed into the water, splashing water all around it and drenching Beast Boy.

"Sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm so stupid! Don't tell, please don't tell!" Terra seemed to be close to a panic attack if her ranting was anything to go by. Beast Boy tried to calm her down.

"Terra, it's okay. You can't totally control your powers, so what?" Beast Boy inquired. But Terra still looked as panic-stricken as before.

"Promise you won't tell anybody. Ever!" she persisted relentlessly.

"Sure." Beast Boy said a little uncertainly. Terra was now outright glaring at him.

"Swear it!" she nearly snarled at him.

"Okay! Okay! I promise. But really, it's no big deal. If my friends knew they'd still like you." Beast Boy assured the blonde geomancer. Unfortunately, she looked anything but reassured. Old buried memories were resurfacing, and she did not like them.

"You just don't understand."

* * *

A gunshot echoed across the otherwise quiet lair. The sound was promptly followed by a sladebot falling over with a hole in its head. _'Right between the eyes.' _Raven thought proudly to herself as she holstered her spent Desert Eagle and observed the droves of other sladebots still left to deal with.

They had her surrounded on all sides, but she was not worried in the last. Already the floor was littered with the remnants of dozens of other bots that she had already dealt with. With a cocky smirk, she withdrew her broadsword from the chest of a bot before making the universal sign of "bring it on".

The sladebots all sprang into motion, attacking from all sides. Raven leaped over the first one while decapitating it, driving her steel tipped boots into the chest of the one behind it. The moment she made contact with the floor, she ducked under a punch before rolling clear of a sweeping kick.

Three sladebots came at her at the same time, but Raven made three lightning fast slashes at them before moving on. The bots stood still for a few seconds before they realized Raven had cut them in two diagonally, at which point they collapsed to the ground.

Raven skewered another bot before using it as an anchor to steady herself with as she did a double booted kick that took the head off a second bot that had tried to sneak up on her. Six others tried to surround her again, but Raven ducked low and spun around in a circle, slicing off their legs.

As they collapsed to the ground and tried to crawl after her, Raven leaped clear of them, dropping a primed grenade among them as a goodbye gift. Several others attacked with kicks and punches, but Raven effortlessly sliced off all limbs that came close to her until she was surrounded by dozens of still functioning sladebots, all lacking limbs to use.

Four other bots suddenly jumped down from above her, forcing Raven to backpedal to avoid getting crushed under them. Her retreat was quickly over and she charged at them, attacking faster than they could react. She cut the first one in half, decapitated the second one, crushed the third one's head with her pommel and skewered the fourth one.

But there were still three others left, and these three were armed with energy blasters. They were quick to open fire on Raven, who utilized the sladebot still skewered on her sword as a makeshift shield. But the unrelenting barrage began to tear her cover apart. So she attached a grenade to it before kicking it away from her, towards the other sladebots.

The explosion forced them back, but caused no casualties. That had never been its purpose as before they could recover, a shuriken came flying at them. It embedded itself in the throat of the left one. The two others stared in temporary surprise at their comrade as it collapsed to the floor. That was all the time Raven needed.

Before they knew what hit them, Raven had leaped at them and cut them both to ribbons with a flurry of sword strikes. As the last two bots literally fell to pieces, Raven calmly sheathed her sword. Clapping suddenly echoed across the room as Slade stepped into the light.

"Excellent work, Raven. You're undoubtedly getting better." He complimented. Whether he meant it or not was hard to discern. Raven just scoffed at him.

"This is hardly what I would call a challenge. You seriously need to upgrade these tin cans of yours, they're barely enough for a warm-up." She commented as she walked over to a nearby bench where a water bottle lay. She took a greedy swig rom it while Slade folded his hands behind his back.

"I will take your advice under consideration. In the meantime, I have a task for you." was all Slade said before he turned around and stalked out of the training hall. Raven shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly as she followed him into to the control room. And as Raven had suspected the whole day, the screens all depicted Terra.

"Let me guess; this task of mine concerns Terra, right?" Raven asked, mostly for clarification. It did not take a genius to figure out who today's target was. Silent as a ghost, Slade stepped out of the shadows to stand in front of the screens with his eye locked on them.

"Correct. She has made contact with the Teen Titans, and if I want to recruit her to my side I need to act before she develops too strong ties with them." Clearly, he had learned his lesson from his failed attempt at recruiting Robin. "But if I'm going to convince her, I need to talk to her alone, with no interruptions from the other Titans."

At this point, he turned his face away from the screen and gazed at Raven. "And that's where you come in, Raven. You will provide a bait to draw them out in the open, and then serve as a distraction to keep them occupied while I talk with Terra."

Raven slowly nodded her head in thought as she analyzed the mission from every angle. It sounded quite doable to her, and very easy. If the plan was a sound one, that was.

"Mission parameters?" she finally asked.

"I leave the planning to you on this one. As long as the Titans are kept occupied, I don't mind what you do." Slade answered bluntly. That answer must have really pleased Raven as she was quickly smiling that kind of smile that would make anyone decide to take a sudden three month vacation to somewhere far away from her.

"And it just so happens that I have the perfect idea. But I'll need as many of your sladebots as you can spare." Raven stated before she walked over to a nearby table. Something lied on the table, but it was covered by a piece of cloth.

"And this mission is also a perfect time for me to finally get to use this little toy of mine." She commented as she pullet the cloth off. Slade just shook his head in resignation, but said nothing. Raven noticed and raised an eyebrow at him.

"What? It's not just boys who find toys amusing." She said teasingly. Slade never even dignified that comment with an answer, and instead walked away.

"Killjoy." Raven muttered under her breath. At moments like these, she missed her comrades back in H.I.V.E. Academy. At least with them she could trade banter with. Well, it was no point in complaining, just get the job done now.

* * *

A beautiful morning arrived the next day, with a clear blue sky and a warm breeze. Perfect for a training run. This was exactly what Cyborg was doing at that very moment, with the help of the Titans' obstacle course. Metallic fists sprung up from the ground, but he sidestepped them and pushed on.

With the first obstacle gone, he came up against a grid of laser firing turrets, forcing him to dodge and roll to avoid getting hit. This he did with remarkable skill and flexibility, given his bulky steel form. Next up were several steel gates that he had to run under before they closed down.

The first two he narrowly slipped past, but the third came down right on top of him. His mechanical muscles strained to keep the infernal thing from crushing him while trying to push it back up. With one last mighty heave, he pushed it far enough up for him to step past and move on.

Ahead, several rocks opened up, revealing concealed disc launchers within. These promptly let loose with a hail of discs at Cyborg, who for his part got some good target practice in by blasting half of them out of the air with his sonic cannon before leaping over the remainder.

With the last obstacle cleared, Cyborg crossed the finish line, to the cheers of the Titans. Well, most of them anyways. But Cyborg was more interested in the time displayed on his arm, showing the time it took for him to finish. It read 02:17.

"Booyah! New course record!" Cyborg burst out boastfully while laughing in victory.

"Considering you're the first one to run this course, any time would have been a record." Argent deadpanned, bursting Cyborg's bubble. He silently thanked her with a sour glare.

"Okay, Terra. Ready to show us what you can do?" Robin called from the control station he occupied along with Argent. Terra said nothing, instead she walked up to the starting line in preparation.

"I just hope you're ready to see it." She murmured quietly to herself. Beast Boy was quick to rush up to her and place a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"You can do it." He assured her with a smile. "Besides, it's just practice. It doesn't matter if you mess up. Not that you're gonna mess up, but I'm just saying that even if you blow it, you…"

He should have probably stopped talking after his assurance, because Terra was looking anything but reassured as she put on her goggles in preparation for her run. Beast Boy finally took notice of the look Terra was giving him and uttered a meek "Shutting up now."

"Countdown initiated! Good luck, Terra." Robin called out. While the Titans were cheering her on enthusiastically, Terra herself wondered if all her enthusiasm had been transferred to them during the night, given her current lack of said emotion.

"Don't lose control. Don't lose control. Don't." she repeated like a mantra to herself, as if that was going to do any good. At that moment, the countdown reached zero. First obstacles were camouflaged laser guns that sprung up from rocks and opened fire. Terra escaped these by rising into the air on a stone pillar.

The pillar itself was promptly turned to dust from the concentrated fire, but Terra utilized a section of it as a flying platform, which she clung onto for dear life while the remains of her pillar crushed the guns. Terra flew onward on her rock, but gave a terrified shout as metal fists burst out of the ground all around her.

She barely avoided most of these, while still holding on to her little rock, but the last one caught her by surprise and shattered her rock. Terra herself was sent flying into the air screaming like a… well, like a girl. In desperation, she summoned another rock to her aid, but as she breathed out a sigh of relief, she discovered that she was close to crashing into the ground.

With a supreme will of effort, she swerved left to avoid a collision, but still scraped against a rock in her path. Back at the finish line, the Titans were still cheering her on.

"Yeah, you're the man, Terra! Uh… I mean you're the… way to go!" or, in Beast Boy's case, _trying_ to cheer her on.

Terra meanwhile was spinning around on her rock, having trouble keeping it steady. Up ahead, the same steel gates Cyborg came up against before were standing ready to receive Terra. Though her way of getting past was by forming another pillar of rock and used it like a battering ram to reduce the three gates to piles of bent and warped steel.

"Dammit, and we just finished constructing the damn obstacle course." Argent grumbled as Robin pressed as series of buttons on the control panel. In response, the ground that Terra was mere seconds from crashing into opened up, like it was making ready to swallow her up.

She called another rock to her aid, but she slipped off of it twice before she summoned a pair of rocks the size of her hand, which she clung onto for dear life as they raised her out of the pit. Quickly, she launched herself aboard another rock and continued on. And up ahead, she faced the disc launchers.

Thinking fast, she used the rock she was flying on as a shield against the discs before launching a barrage of rocks at the launchers, pulverizing them. Finally, she came to an unsteady landing on the finish line. The Titans were staring at her like she had just beaten Superman himself. To finish it all off, Terra gave a graceful bow to her audience. The Titans instantly burst out into cheering yet again.

"You rock!" Beast Boy burst out as he ran up to her.

"Magnificent success!" Starfire congratulated her as she flew up to the pair. Cyborg meanwhile was checking the timer to determine how long it took for her to complete the course.

It read 01:56.

"Well, would you look at that? New course record." Argent commented smugly to Cyborg, who for his part looked more shocked than before.

"I must have softened it up for her." Cyborg sheepishly stated in a vain attempt to protect his battered pride. Though everyone could tell that it was a half-heartened attempt.

"You were in incredible!" Beast Boy said as he raised his hand in preparation for a high five. But what he instead received from the blonde haired girl was a hug.

"I did it. You said I could do it, and you were right." Terra stated happily. Beast Boy for his part had hearts bubbling out of him while he looked as if he had just taken a huge draft of cannabis. The moment Terra let go, he began wobbling around before collapsing to the ground in total bliss.

If that was how he reacts to a mere hug, Lord knows how he will react to a full-blown kiss.

"A little rough around the edges, but you've got some real talent there." Robin commented from behind Terra (How the hell did he get there in the first place?! Wait, ninja training, nevermind). Terra looked absolutely ecstatic at that.

"You think?" she asked hopefully. Never before had anyone said that to her, and it was raising her spirits higher than ever before.

"With a little more training, you could…" whatever else Robin was about to say was interrupted by a beeping from his communicator. He quickly brought it out to check what had come up. Terra meanwhile was staring at him with a raised eyebrow when suddenly different parts of the other Titans' costumes began blinking. Terra looked more than weirded out now.

"Okay, why is everybody blinking?" she asked suspiciously while narrowing her eyes at the group.

* * *

If there was one picture in existence that could make even the most stoic of Titan boil with rage, it was a picture of…

"Slade. He's back." Robin practically snarled out in contempt as the team surveyed a digital map of Jump City, depicting the apparent site of Slade's recent attack. While the Teen Titans looked furious and battle-ready, Terra just looked confused.

"Slade?" she asked Beast Boy, hoping for clarification.

"Bad guy. Way bad." Was all Beast Boy said, all traces of humor gone at the mere mention of their nemesis.

"Got a fix on his location. Titans, move out!" was all Robin said before he rushed out of the living room, with his team a few steps behind. That only left Terra standing awkwardly by herself, unsure whether they wanted her along or not. Beast Boy noticed her reluctance and solved it for her.

"Hey! You coming or what?" he asked while pointing at the door. Terra smiled gratefully at him as he ran up to him. The two of them then exited the room, arms linked together.

* * *

The site of today's mayhem and chaos was a nearby diamond mine, which had come under attack by a horde of sladebots. They blasted away at every worker they could find while several of them where working on loading up several rail carts with diamonds. All of this was coordinated and overseen by Raven herself.

"Come on! Hustle, hustle, hustle! We ain't got all day!" She shouted to the bots, who of course showed no reaction to her words. Not that Raven had expected one in the first place. As a pair of sladebots rolled past her on cart filled with diamonds, Raven leisurely plucked one of the diamonds from the pile and examined it proudly.

"They say diamonds are a woman's best friend. While mine are guns and ammo, I think diamonds come in on a close second place for me." She commented as she threw it into another passing cart. Several nearby workers were in the midst of attempting a feeble counter-attack against Raven's forces.

"Protect the diamonds!" one of them shouted while opening fire with his sidearm. While he scored a few hits on one of the sladebots, they were poorly aimed and did little to no damage.

"Idiot." Raven mumbled to herself as she lazily withdrew one of her own guns and with a single shot, disarmed him. The worker looked fearfully between his empty hands and the gun held in Raven's hand, which was now aimed right at his head.

"End of the line for you." she stated. Though before she could pull the trigger, a birdarang came swooping in and knocked the gun right out of her hand. But instead of looking shocked or angered by it, Raven looked more amused.

"And I almost thought they wouldn't show up today." She mumbled quietly to herself as she turned to face the Teen Titans.

"Tell your boss we'd like a word with him, Raven." Robin stated venomously. Once again, that infuriating smile of hers was back in place.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Slade is a very busy man these days after the recent departure of his newly hired assistance." She countered, making a playful jab at Robin with that sentence. He gritted his teeth in anger, but restrained himself.

"However, I'm sure I can schedule a meeting somewhere…" with lighting speed, she drew her remaining gun and aimed it at Robin. "… In the afterlife!"

As the bullets came soaring at him, Robin rolled out of the way before he and his team charged. But Raven retreated and allowed the sladebots to step forward and engage the Titans.

"Titans, go!" Robin shouted as they engaged the sladebots. Terra once again took to the air on a piece of rock.

"You boys ready to rock?" she asked cockily. I guess she received her answer when two sladebots jumped onto her rock. Robin meanwhile had spotted her plight just as he kicked a sladebot away from himself. He quickly leaped up and kicked them both off the rock.

"Thanks." Terra said in relief. For a few moments there she thought that she had been toast.

"No problem." Robin simply said as he scanned the area suspiciously. "By the way, did you happen to see where Raven went off to?"

Terra gave a confused look at that. "Who?"

A loud whistle suddenly drew their attention to a nearby pile of crates. Turning in that direction, they found Raven standing on top of it, smiling smugly at them. But both of them turned an unhealthy shade of white when they saw her. Or rather, what she was aiming at them.

An M134 Minigun.

"Say hello to my little friend!" she shouted gleefully before she pulled the trigger and a storm of bullets began spewing out of the weapon. Caught by surprise, the barrage shredded the rock they were occupying and sent them both crashing to the ground. But luckily Terra had enough sense to form a shield of rock in front of them, right before Raven resumed firing at them.

"Go help the others! I'll deal with her!" Robin suddenly shouted at Terra over the noise of battle. She in turn looked at him skeptically, for obvious reasons as their makeshift cover was already crumbling away under Raven's constant barrage.

"You sure you can handle her on your own?" she shouted back just as their cover crumbled away, obscuring them both in a thick layer of dust.

"Just go!" she heard him shout from somewhere before the noise of the minigun started up again, though this time no bullets came her way. Not wanting to argue further, or risk getting in that crazy girl's line of fire again, Terra slipped away to assist the other Titans.

Robin meanwhile was running a bloody gauntlet as he tried to stay ahead of Raven's aim while bullets constantly shredded the ground behind him. Thankfully, with the heavy minigun held at waist-level, all Raven could do was point the damn weapon in the general direction and hold down the trigger. Then again, at 4000 rounds per minute, accuracy was not much of an issue.

In an attempt to get closer to her, Robin threw a smoke bomb to cover himself. It did not work as Raven began to wildly spray bullets all over the place, cackling maniacally the whole time.

"Now this is what I call firepower!" she shouted over the roar of her gun. Robin was forced to take cover behind a crane, its metal framework providing better protection against the bullets.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Raven sing-songed as she continued to pour out lead. Behind his cover, Robin cursed profoundly. The damn girl was not giving him any chance whatsoever to get closer. Suddenly, the noise of the minigun came to an end. In her carelessness, Raven had spent all the ammunition she had brought along. Something she was extremely aggravated about.

"Dammit, not again! I always get too carried away with these kinds of weapons!" she complained as she dropped the minigun and picked up a Milkor MGL.

Taking notice of the sudden lack of bullets coming his way, Robin peered around his cover. Just in time to watch Raven take aim at him with the grenade launcher. He quickly leaped over the crane, just seconds before two fired grenades made it go up in flames. Raven was quick to take aim on Robin again, but he was faster and threw a trio of exploding discs at her.

She was forced to leap off her higher ground as the discs shredded it. While she landed harmlessly on the ground, she never got a chance to fire her grenade launcher again as Robin came in with a battle roar and a spinning kick that knocked the gun right out of her hands.

A fist to her chest followed up that knocked her back. That gave her room to draw her Desert Eagle but Robin was upon her again just as she fired a bullet that grazed his shoulder. He grabbed hold of her hand and twisted it until she was forced to let go of her gun before he performed a judo throw on her.

"Ouch." Raven grumbled from where she lay on her back, but still had enough sense to roll clear of a descending boot. Not long after, she was back on her feet, just in time to meet Robin coming at her with his bo staff. She ducked under the first swing, sidestepped a jab, nearly got knocked over from a blow to her side and finally managed to draw a dagger which she used to block another swing.

Before he could react, Raven had pushed his staff aside and smashed her fist into his guts. He took a few involuntary steps back, but gritted his teeth and pressed onward again. Raven was forced on the defensive as he came at her with a flurry of strikes with his bo staff. Several times she would try to reach for her sword, but Robin gave her no space to draw it.

He spun, she swung, he thrust, he swept, he aimed high, he aimed low, he tried knocking her legs off from under her, he aimed for the head, he swung again, he feinted right before striking left.

More and more strikes landed on Raven, and she was gradually forced back. Finally, she managed to block a strike with her dagger again and struck out with her right foot. But Robin sidestepped and grabbed hold of the limb before dragging her off balance. Yet as she fell to the ground with Robin pressing on, she suddenly dropped a primed smoke grenade that engulfed their area in white smoke.

To Robin's dismay, he found that he had lost sight of Raven in the smoke. Not good, not good at all. Bo staff held high and ready, Robin began to cautiously move around in an attempt to locate her. Soon however, the smoke began to clear away, revealing a cloaked figure standing right behind Robin with a drawn sword.

Battle instincts and reflexes were the only thing that saved Robin as he spun around while leaping back to avoid a sword strike that would have cleaved him in half. Instead his bo staff got cleaved. Taking a quick glance at the two halves of his bo staff, Robin threw them away and brought out his custom made sword.

"I see you're still working for Slade." Robin remarked coldly. Raven for her part raised an amused eyebrow.

"You make it sound like it came as a shock to you, bird boy." she countered humorlessly. Robin never once changed his cold poker face.

"To be honest, I had hoped that you would have at least left his services by now." He admitted. Now Raven looked to be stuck somewhere between confused and amused.

"And why would I do that?" she asked in curiosity.

"He's a bad man, Raven. Someone you should never even socialize with, let alone work for."

At that, Raven could not help but laugh. "In case you haven't noticed, bird boy, I'm quite a bad girl myself."

But Robin merely shook his head. "You're no way near his level of depravity."

If he was going to say anything else, he never got the chance since Raven leaped at him with an overhead strike. He barely blocked it in time, but was forced to his knees from the strain. Raven took the chance to lean in closer to him.

"Shall we put that to the test?" she questioned before she lashed out with a kick that forced him back. She attacked again with a thrust. He sidestepped and struck back with a swing that was blocked before it was knocked aside. He nearly lost his head from the counterattack had he not ducked in time.

A flurry of thrusts and slashes followed with unrelenting fury that forced Robin to slowly retreat. He suddenly leaped right over her and tried a kick to her back. She spun around and nearly cut his foot off before she stepped in close and drove her pommel into his chest. He was promptly knocked off his feet and was nearly skewered on Raven's sword had he not rolled clear.

"Had enough yet?" Raven asked tauntingly as Robin rolled back on his feet and rushed her again. He tried several sword strikes, but all were blocked by Raven.

"I'm just getting warmed up." Robin stated furiously before he tried an overhead swing with all his strength. This was easily sidestepped by Raven before she lashed out with a quick slash that left a red mark on his cheek. Would have been worse had he not twisted his body out of the way.

"Good, because I'm just getting started here." Raven said amusedly as she made ready to lunge at him again. But both combatants stopped when they felt a small rumble, followed by the panicked shout of "BEAST BOY!" that echoed across the battlefield.

"Sounds like your team is having a little trouble on their own." Raven remarked. Robin said nothing, but was debating whether to continue his fight with Raven or go help his friends. The choice was made for him when Raven attacked again, forcing him to block an incoming strike.

"Don't even think about it, bird boy. Your fight is with me." She stated, having guessed his thoughts. He merely gritted his teeth and pushed harder against her.

"Then I'll just have to beat you faster so I can go help my friends." he snarled out as the two continued their duel.

* * *

Terra was absolutely horrified at what had just happened. She had lost control of her powers, and Beast Boy had paid the price for it. She was stupid, so damn stupid! How could she have allowed herself to be persuaded into staying? She should have left while she still had the chance. At least then this would have never happened.

In panic, she fled deeper into the mining network. For how deep she ran, she could not tell, but when she finally did stop she was panting heavily and was forced to lean against the wall for support. What was she supposed to do now? Go back to the Teen Titans? After what she had done to repay their kindness?

"Why can't I do this?" she asked herself as she slipped down to the floor. The sound of footsteps echoing down the tunnel suddenly caught her attention. Peering down the tunnel, she caught sight of a figure running deeper into the mine. But she easily recognized who it was.

"Slade." she murmured before she took off after him. This could be her chance of redemption. If she could catch the villain, at least she would have done some good in this battle. As she closed in on him, she used her powers to cause the tunnel ahead to cave in, trapping the villain.

"Looks like I've got you." Terra stated smugly. But she was caught completely off guard when Slade leaped right over her. The moment he landed behind her, he swept her legs from under her before straightening up with a bomb in his hand.

"Actually, Terra…" he began calmly as he threw the bomb into the roof behind them. "… I've got you." the bomb then went off, trapping them both and plunging the whole tunnel into darkness. Until emergency light kicked in.

Slade began to calmly approach the girl, who for her part began whimpering in fear.

"Now, Terra. You walked right into a trap. Another mistake you of all people should know better." He admonished her as he brought out his bo staff. "But at least you and I are finally getting a chance to talk."

With that said, he thrust his staff like a spear at her, which she narrowly rolled clear of. Now, in the face of imminent danger and possible death, her earlier fear was twisted into anger. And that anger fuelled her strength and determination. She launched a fist sized rock right at him. But it was a laughable attempt as Slade barely even needed to dodge that attack.

"Hmmm… I see we have much to talk about." He stated with that same calm voice as before, though this time there was a small trace of mockery about it. Terra was not amused.

"Mind if I talk with my hands?" she asked angrily right before she launched two pillars at Slade, aiming to crush him between them. But he jumped right over them as if it was nothing and landed in front of her.

"Good, Terra. But not good enough." Was all the warning she received before a flurry of strikes descended upon her. She sent another rock at him, but he just jumped right over it. Though he lost his bo staff.

"Impressive. Unless of course, you were aiming for me." The battle continued in much the same manner, until Slade landed a solid blow that sent Terra flying into the wall. Quite painfully I might add. But she still managed to climb back to her feet.

"Back off! I'm with the Titans! They'll be coming to…"

"You don't belong with the Titans." Slade calmly interrupted her rant.

"You don't know anything about me!" Terra stated furiously. But Slade suddenly brought forth a certain item of hers. Her butterfly-shaped hairpin she had lost in her battle with the scorpion.

"On the contrary, Terra. I know everything about you. I've been watching you for some time. I know why you're always running away. I know your secret, little girl." He revealed calmly, but with a sense of smugness to it all. Terra was looking like she was close to a panic attack about now.

"No!" she shouted furiously as she rushed the villain. But Slade merely grabbed her arm and slammed her back into the wall. She _would_ listen to what he had to say, whether she wanted to or not.

"Earthquakes, avalanches, mudslides." Slade counted down while Terra was staring fearfully at him. "Everywhere you go, you try to do good. And everywhere, you fail."

He finally let go of her arm, which she immediately cradled close to her body. "So everyone turns against you. You lack control, Terra. And when you lose control, you are more dangerous than anything I've ever seen."

As he spoke, he fastened Terra's hairpin back in her hair. Terra now was looking at him with a truly pitiful look. Internally, Slade began to wonder if maybe he should have heeded Raven's advice. In terms of power, the girl had few rivals. But that seemed to be nearly all to her. Nevertheless, he would still push on with his plan.

"But it doesn't have to be this way. I can help you, child." He offered as he turned around. Terra truly looked tempted at the suggestion, but was still cautious.

"You… can?" she asked. Slade suddenly picked up a piece of rock from the ground.

"Right now you are… rough, around the edges." He explained as he held up the rock for her to see. "You need more than obstacle courses to overcome your problem. You need a teacher, a mentor."

As he explained, he began to grind the stone to pieces in his hand.

"Come with me, Terra, and I can teach you to shine." He stated as he held his hand open again, showing the diamond that had been at the core of the rock. But Terra still looked uncertain about the offer.

"But… my friends told me you're…"

"You don't really believe they're your friends? Do you, Terra?" Slade interrupted her yet again.

"They took me in. gave me a home." Terra tried to defend them against that accusation.

"And when they find out what's wrong with you, they'll reject you. Like everyone else." Slade easily countered. It seemed his words began to have an effect on the girl as her body began to tremble.

"Beast Boy…"

"Can't keep his mouth shut forever. He'll tell them."

"He promised!" by now, Terra was beginning to use her powers again as yellow energy gathered at her hands. Whether she was aware of this or not was up for debate.

"He lied." Slade smoothly countered. That was the last straw for Terra as she spun around with a furious expression on her face. Dirt and rocks began to swirl wildly around her.

"Shut up! Just shut up and leave! Me! Alone!" she shouted in complete anger. Until she realized her anger was causing her powers to go haywire. At which point she crouched down and grasped her head firmly.

"Don't lose control. Don't lose control." She desperately repeated to herself, hoping that would be enough.

"Now, Terra. How can you lose something… you never had?" Slade asked rhetorically. That finally cracked the poor girl as she gave an anguished scream while her powers where unleashed on the whole mine.

* * *

Back at the main battle, Robin and Raven were still locked in combat, with Raven slowly gaining ground. They were currently dueling it out on one of the higher levels when a sudden earthquake struck.

"What the…" Raven muttered to herself as she was caught unprepared and became unbalanced. Robin had more luck on that end and was quick to capitalize on his opponent's disadvantage. He rushed in and knocked Raven's blade right out of her hands before a roundhouse kick sent her flying into a stack of crates that came down on her.

With Raven temporarily dealt with, Robin used his grapple gun to swing down to his friends, who were in the midst of mopping up any remaining sladebots.

"We need to get out of here! Slade's trying to bring down the whole mine!" Cyborg shouted frantically. But Robin was looking quite skeptical to that.

"I'm not sure he's the one doing this." He said thoughtfully.

Back with Raven, she was just crawling out from under the pile of crates, muttering a string of words not appropriate to write on such an open site as this.

"Okay, what the hell is going on now?" she asked herself as she stood back up. Though she was quick to draw a logical conclusion on what had happened.

Unstable geomancer + Slade's interest in said geomancer + sudden earthquake = Slade has played his little mind game with her and she snapped.

All that boiled down to one answer to this whole mess for Raven; mission accomplished, now get the hell out of there.

"Now then, where did my sword go?" she asked herself as she looked around. But to her dismay, she saw no sign of her prized sword. _'Dammit all to hell! I don't have time to look for it! I need to get out of here!' _was the furious thought circling through her mind. So with another muttered curse, she took off towards the exit.

Her sword meanwhile had landed in a crevice, hidden from sight. But as Raven made good on her escape, something happened with the sword. It began to vibrate before some kind of dark energy, eerily similar to Raven's own, covered all parts of it. Not long after, it levitated into the air and shot off like a bullet.

Raven was just about to slip out the exit when she heard the clatter of steel right behind her. Turning around with a knife drawn, she was surprised to find her sword lying on the ground just behind her. _'How the hell did it get here?'_

But she was running out of time, so that mystery would have to go unsolved. So she quickly sheathed her sword and sprinted out of the mine.

* * *

With the threat neutralized, the Titans were gathered back in their tower to celebrate. But this time they were not celebrating an apparent victory over Slade, but saying goodbye to a friend.

"Well guys, it's been real. Seriously, thanks for everything, but I should…" Terra was in the midst of explaining and walking out the door with her backpack. Unfortunately, when the door opened, it was blocked by a grinning Cyborg.

"Don't even think about it." He stated humorlessly. Terra meanwhile was looking quite shocked that her escape had been cut off.

"Okay, what's going on?" she asked with resigned humor as she turned back towards Robin.

"We talked it over and…" Cyborg began.

"… We wish for you to stay here, with us!" Starfire finished joyfully.

"We think you'd make a great addition to our team." Robin added proudly. Terra was beyond shocked about now.

"Sooo, wanna be a Titan?" Beast Boy asked hopefully as Robin held out a communicator for her to take, which she did with disbelief written all over her face.

"Me? Really?" she asked in astonishment. Naturally, someone had to burst this happy bubble. That someone happened to be Robin.

"Of course, you'll need more training. I know you have trouble controlling your power, and we can help…" that was about when Terra's communicator hit the floor as she had dropped it in shock and anger.

"You told him?" Terra accused of Beast Boy.

"I didn't." Beast Boy defended himself, but Terra obviously did not believe him.

"You promised!" she stated furiously as she glared at him, hurt deeply by this apparent betrayal. "You lied to me! You lied!"

With that said, Terra stormed out of the tower. It would be a long time before the Titans ever saw her again.

* * *

From his underground lair, Slade was quietly watching a screen depicting Terra run away from the Titans. That went far easier than he had ever imagined.

"Run all you like. Because no matter where you go, every step brings you closer to me." He stated smugly, as if he expected her to hear him from miles away. From out of the shadows behind him, Raven suddenly stepped forward.

"So, mission successful, I take it?" she asked curiously.

"Indeed it was, ear child." Slade answered, never even turning around to face her. Raven just shrugged her shoulders, not really that bothered, and turned to walk away.

"If you need me, I'll be in the gym." She said over her shoulder as she walked away. But unseen by both of them, the red ruby on Raven's sword momentarily flared to life. And for the briefest of moments, it almost looked like an eye, glaring at the back of Raven's head.


	13. Chapter 13: An Unexpected Ally

**Chapter 13: An Unexpected Ally**

Now when she looked back, almost two weeks later, Terra could admit that running away in such a hurry might not have been the best course of action. Sure, she had been pretty mad at Beast Boy for breaking his promise to her, but now look where she was; in even greater troubles than before. Money was tight, food was running low and she had no place to sleep.

Definitively should have planned this out better in advance. Now here she was, stranded and alone in Los Angeles, trying desperately to stay off the radar. Who she was hiding from, she was not that certain. Her instincts were just telling her to lay low for a while, and she was not about to question her instincts.

Dressed in a brown sweatshirt with a hood covering her face, Terra discreetly slipped through the crowd of people moving to and fro along the sidewalks. Her destination, unknown, even to her. She just went wherever her legs would carry her. No purpose, no plan, no reason. That was pretty much what her life had spiraled into.

The prospect of stabilizing her life again did however exist just ahead of her all the time. She could have moved on with her life, like she always did. But every time she even thought of trying, Slade's haunting words came back to torture her, poisoning her with doubt and uncertainty.

No one could help her, no one could understand her. That was the sad truth in her life. She was alone. She had no one in her life. Why bother trying to change it when she will most likely mess up again, like she always does? As she passed an alley, she could hear some kind of struggle going on in its depths.

Casting a quick glance to her right, she found about three thugs had ganged up on some unfortunate victim, who by now lied bleeding and whimpering on the ground. People just walked right past the entrance of the alley without so much as a glance, either not hearing or caring about the commotion going on inside. _'Most likely the latter.'_ Terra thought bitterly.

As the thugs' taunting laughs reached her ears, Terra felt anger boiling up within her and took a few steps towards them. That was about the only advance she made before she stopped herself. Just what was she doing? Or, a better question; what did she hope to do? March right up to them and beat them around with her powers?

Bad idea. Really bad idea. With her luck, she would most likely bring the whole neighborhood down on their heads. And that would just set off yet another witch hunt screaming for her blood. Everyone would turn on her, like they always did.

With trembling lips, Terra stepped back, even as the victim's pitiful cries of "Help!" and "Mercy!" rang out. Even though they were so quiet and raspy that they could be barely heard, each word stung with such poisonous pain in Terra's soul that she could barely keep herself together.

"This is what you get for trying to double-cross the Capule family, pal." One of the thugs sneered as he flipped out a stiletto knife. The victim's whimpering increased in volume as his bloodied and broken body tried to will up the strength to move, only to come up empty and prompting more laughter from the gathered thugs.

"Nighty night." The knife wielding thug said sweetly, right before he plunged the knife straight into his victim's throat. The whole time, Terra watched the spectacle absolutely mortified. Maybe not such a great idea to do when dealing with murderous thugs. Exemplified here by one of them turning around and spotting her.

"Hey boss, we go a witness here." He called over his shoulder. The breath that Terra had been in the midst of taking got stuck in her throat and her whole body tensed up. But that only lasted for a second or so before she sprang into action. Fighting, you may think.

Wrong!

She did the one thing that came naturally to her. She ran. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, never once sparing so much as a glance back. Whether the thugs were following her or not did not matter to her, she just wanted to get as far away as possible.

Well, there was at least one comfort in her life; as long as she held a low profile, no one would find her. And besides, as long as the thugs never found her again, what was the worst that could happen?

* * *

Traffic was always a killer in big cities such as this. You could be stuck in traffic lines for hours on end if you were really unfortunate. However, it seemed like there was at least one person in Los Angeles who had come to a conclusion regarding this dilemma. _'Screw traffic rules!'_

It was for this reason we find a young girl, dressed head to toe in a leather outfit and wearing a helmet, weaving through the slow-moving cars on a black motorcycle. Without a single care in the world, she raced right through a crossroad at over 100 miles/h. against red light and in full view of a police car no less.

"Holy shit! Did you see that?!" the policeman riding shotgun exclaimed in shock.

"Oh, I saw it alright. And I'm putting a stop to it." The policeman at the wheel stated with conviction before he turned on the sirens and blasted off in pursuit. The reckless girl they were chasing only spared one look over her shoulder before she accelerated. In and out of traffic she weaved, the pursuing car struggling to keep up on the tightly packed roads.

More sirens blaring away indicated that reinforcements had arrived, and now there were over a dozen police cars in pursuit. But the girl just pushed her motorcycle to max and shot forward like a bullet. The police tried to run her down, but she kept driving through the most densely packed sections, making it all but impossible for them to close in without ramming civilian cars.

Ahead, a supermarket loomed above the nearby buildings. And it was at that point that the girl did something truly reckless. She swerved tightly to the right and drove off the road.

"Where the hell's she going?" one of the pursuing policemen asked. His answer came when the masses of people fled away and created a clear path towards the mall's entrance.

"Oh no, she wouldn't." he stated in horror while shaking his head. But oh yes, she would as she raced towards the entrance with full throttle. Just before she would have rammed the glass doors, she pulled out an Uzi and emptied its clip into the door. She easily smashed through the weakened door.

People fled from her path in panic as she raced down the corridor of the mall at breakneck speed. She spared the people not even a single glance as she blasted out on the other end like a motorized rocket on wheels. Two wheels firmly planted on roads again, the girl was racing away yet again.

But her little move had not been as effective as she had hoped, as there were still cars pursuing her. She darted into the heavy traffic again and speeded on with all haste, heading towards a bridge passing over a highway. The police cars continued to pursue her relentlessly.

But as she arrived halfway over the bridge, she found the opposite end was blocked off by police cars, and more came up behind her. She was trapped. One of the cops ahead of her steeped out of his car with a megaphone in hand.

"Attention! We have you surrounded here! There is no escape! Turn off your engine and step away from your vehicle with your hands behind your head!" he called out, sounding mildly bored by his speech. Obviously he had been giving that line far too many times already.

But the girl did none of the tasks given to her, instead she kept revving her engine as if in preparation for a hasty get-away. She cast one look forward, then one look backward before looking sideways. The cop meanwhile was growing uneasy. In his books, when a criminal refused to cooperate, it meant they had a trick up their sleeve.

"I repeat, turn off your engine and step away from your vehicle with your hands behind your back! This is your final warning!" he called out before putting away the microphone and drawing his sidearm. Still the girl did not comply.

Without warning, she gave the cops ahead of her a two finger salute before she gunned her engine and speeded away.

Straight towards the edge of the bridge.

"OPEN FIRE!" the cop bellowed as his shock wore off, but the order came too late as she was already sailing over the edge when the first bullets started flying through the air. Gravity soon took hold of the bike and dragged it down towards the ground again, where it impacted heavily against the road. But no damage seemed to have been done as she was racing away the moment her tires made contact with the road.

A police helicopter was quick to pick up the chase from the air. But up ahead, the highway went into an underground turret. The girl drove on, but managed to turn round and flip the bird to the helicopter before vanishing underground.

"All units. Suspect has entered a tunnel, heading towards centrum." The pilot called through the radio. Barely a few minutes later, police cars were positioned at the other end, waiting for the girl to come out.

She never did.

Hundreds of cars drove by, along with a school bus, a trailer, a camper, a truck carrying cars and another one carrying motorcycles. Heck, even a biker gang passed through the tunnel, but no sign whatsoever of the girl. Finally, after an hour, they gave up and the search was called off. But had they been paying more attention, they would have noticed that the truck carrying motorcycles had had one extra when it exited the tunnel.

With the coast clear, the girl slipped out of hiding a raced away again. Though this time she avoided drawing attention to herself. Finally, she drove inside an empty alley, where she shut down her motorcycle. Glancing around to make sure she was alone, the girl finally removed her helmet, letting her shoulder length violet hair to spill out.

Not being able to contain herself any longer, Raven began laughing and whooping in joy. Nothing like an adrenaline pumping chase through densely packed roads to relieve boredom.

"That was fun. But those cops gave up waaay too easily." Raven commented before she gave a tired sigh. "Barely been gone three days and I already miss Jump City. Especially the bird boy, he could always provide me with entertainment."

Melodramatic thoughts aside, Raven quickly got off her motorcycle. She glanced up at the rooftops looming way above her and gave one of her mischievous grins. Reaching into her belt, she pulled out her very own grapple gun. _'Mr. Cyclops at least provides with some sweet toys.' _Was the humored thought that went through her head as she sailed through the air, towards the rooftops.

Performing a graceful flip, she landed on the rooftop to gaze out at the city, as it was basked in the first rays of the slowly rising sun.

"Look out, Los Angeles! Raven's in town!"

* * *

Cameras flashed in such a large number that you became almost blinded by their intensity while microphones were thrust straight into your face by overzealous reporter begging for a statement. That was happened about every time a big shot walked away from court a free man, even though everyone knew he was a criminal.

Yep, just another day at the office for Joseph Capule, head of the Capule family. While secretly wishing he could just pull out a gun and shoot these scavenging vultures, he managed to keep a cool and indifferent aura around himself as he confidently walked along the path cleared by his personal bodyguards.

Finally, he reached the road, where a black limo stood parked and waiting for him. One of his four bodyguards immediately broke rank to hastily open the passenger door for him. Joseph never so much as spared a glance to the bodyguard as he entered, followed swiftly by his four guards. Soon enough, the limo was driving away.

Inside, the atmosphere was tense as Joseph glared at the gaunt and gray haired figure sitting opposite him with a briefcase in hand, held almost like a shield against Joseph's ire.

"Well?" he asked icily. The gaunt figure gave an audible gulp before he began speaking.

"The prosecution has been solved as of now. While not all charges have been officially cleared, we should have them gone by the end of the…"

"I don't care about that shit, Nelson! I wanna know who ratted me out in the first place!" Joseph interrupted with a furious shout that caused Nelson to jump in his seat. He was in no mood for pleasantries here. Taking a few moments to pull his nerves back together, Nelson continued.

"We have tracked down a number of moles within your organization, all of which have been disposed of. However, from what we've been able to gather, they were all acting under the influence of an outside source."

Joseph's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as he glared murderously at Nelson. "Who?"

"Well, we are not completely certain as of yet, the trails are leading to several prominent figures. But the most likely suspect as of yet…"

"JUST SPILL IT ALREADY!" Joseph finally exploded. He did not care who it was that had done this. Someone had had the balls to challenge Joseph on his home turf, putting his whole family in the crossfire in the process, and he was going to pay in blood.

"We believe it was Slade." Nelson finally concluded. And just like that, all air went out of Joseph. Slade. He really should have seen this coming. That one-eyed psychopath had been trying to usurp his business for months now. It would stand to reason that he would attempt a move like this.

With a tired sigh, Joseph leaned back in his seat. Now what the hell was he supposed to do? Go after him? Yeah right, if he had a death wish. No, there was only one option; play cool and let the enemy come to him.

"Nelson, send word out to the boys to make ready for war. And could someone contact…" that was about all he managed to get out before a high caliber bullet tore right through the head of the driver. The limo went out of control and slammed right into a parked car.

Above them, on the rooftops, Raven smiled in satisfaction over her work. A clean headshot between the eyes, courtesy of the Desert Tactical HTI Sniper Rifle currently aimed at her target. She had along the way ditched her biker outfit in favour of her usual attire.

"Gotta love modern weapons. Makes it easier for an assassin to dispatch a target from a distance of 500 meters than to put on her pants." She muttered to herself while ejecting the spent cartridge.

Down below, the surviving passengers were in the midst of crawling out of the wrecked limo. Years of training caused Joseph's bodyguards to quickly close ranks around their charge while scanning the roads for signs of threats. Not that they would have seen much beyond the throng of spectators that had been drawn to the scene in curiosity.

"You alright, sir?" one of the guards, a black man with sunglasses and bald head, asked in concern.

"I'm alive, that should count as something." Joseph muttered back. Meanwhile, Raven had identified her target among the bodies and had taken aim again. Right between the eyes of Joseph.

"See ya, buddy." She stated maliciously before she pulled the trigger. But a mere second before the bullet would have impacted, the black man sprang into action. His hand shot out like a striking viper and actually snatched the bullet right out of the air. All Raven at first could in response was blink owlishly at what she had seen.

"What. The. Hell." She muttered. Zooming in on the hand holding her bullet, Raven found that some strange blue ethereal energy was enveloping it. By taking into account the obviously impossible feat, Raven was quick to draw a conclusion that caused her to groan in irritation.

"Great, a metahuman. Just what I needed." She stated irritably. Ejecting another cartridge, Raven fired another bullet, this time aimed at the metahuman. But instead of catching it this time, the guy drew a kukri and coated it in the same strange energy from before he _sliced _the bullet in half.

"Okay, not good. Not good at all. Time for a strategic retreat." Raven announced as she packed up her gun and slipped away, just as police sirens could be heard approaching.

* * *

Night was falling upon the city, but that did not diminish the level of activity going on. If anything, it only grew more careful to not be detected by the wrong kind of people. This was made obvious by the shady creeps lurking at nearly every corner of some rundown alley. And the way they kept eying Terra as if deciding whether she was a potential customer or a potential undercover cop made her nervous.

So she ducked her head and weaved her way past them, trying to keep as much of a distance as possible. So far, so good. It seemed like she had nothing to worry about here for the moment.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here, boys."

But as always, fate seemed to just looove to do stuff like this to you when you least want it. Without paying attention to exactly _where _she had been going, Terra had accidentally stumbled right into a group of five very mean looking thugs. Before Terra even could think of running, the group had her encircled, while wearing disturbingly lecherous grins on their faces.

That was never a good sign when you were outnumbered five to one.

"Are you lost, girlie?" one of them, a guy with a Mohawk haircut, asked while not-so-subtly eyeing her out. Terra felt bile rise up in her throat when she found there was more than one pair of eyes checking her out.

"No, I'm merely passing through here." She half lied. True, she was just passing through, but she really was lost. The thugs just chuckled wickedly at her as they began circling her like hungry sharks smelling blood.

"That so?"

"Yeah. And if you don't mind, I'd like to be on my way here."

If she was hoping for a form of compliance from the thugs, she was to be sorely disappointed as their little circle grew smaller around her. Normally, these guys would pose no threat to her whatsoever. But despite her powers, she still felt nervous around these thugs.

"Why the rush? Can't you hang around with us for a little while?" the unofficial spokesman of the group inquired sweetly. "I'm sure we could have loads of fun together."

The way he said the word "fun" made Terra sick to her stomach. These guys were truly a despicable group in her eyes, and she was not that all too keen on spending any longer in their disgusting company than she needed.

"Thanks, but I'd rather just go home now." She countered, even though she technically had no home. But there was one factor she had not taken into consideration. The fact that these thugs did not take "no" for an answer, especially when their prey appeared to be physically weaker than them.

It was made clear here as when Terra tried to step out of the circle, Mohawk guy, as Terra had begun to mentally call him, grabbed both her arms and forced her back into the middle of the circle.

"Not so fast, girlie. I'm sure if you gave us a chance, you'd find us to be really entertaining company." He stated, that same lecherous grin still in place as he gave her a more thorough check-over. "I'm sure you'll at least prove entertaining."

Now Terra truly felt like throwing up. But she could not help but also feel a twinge of fear at what he was so blatantly implying. This was ridiculous! She should not feel scared of them! With her geomancer powers, she could send them all flying to mars with just a flick of a hand. But she dared not.

She dared not use her powers on them. What if she lost control again? How many innocents would she hurt this time? How log until she was running away in fear again? After what had transpired in Jump City, her hope and courage had been all but shattered. And the truth was, that no matter how much these thugs may intimidate her, it was nothing compared to the fear she held for her own powers.

Not that it meant that she was planning on just rolling over for these punks. She would rather die before she did that. Before Mohawk guy knew what hit him, Terra did a very dirty move on him by targeting the pair of jewels that every man holds dearest with a knee. While he did not scream in pain, it was obvious from the way his eyes rolled back into their sockets that it had been a fatal blow. A high pitched whimper later and he was down on the ground in a fetal position.

But Terra never had a chance to celebrate her small victory as his buddies suddenly ganged up on her. Terra may have been a powerhouse when using her powers, but when it came to hand to hand she was outright pathetic. And that was putting it mildly. It was not long before they had used their superior street strength to lay Terra low with kicks and punches.

Terra desperately tried to crawl away, but a powerful blow to her back sent her sprawling. A boot planted on her back prevented any further escapes.

"You little bitch! You're so going to regret that!" the one keeping her pinned snarled hatefully from above her. Not long after, several hands seized her and hauled her off roughly. Terra tried to fight back, having a pretty accurate guess as to what awaited her, but she stood no chance against them in her battered state.

From the rear of the group though, the whimpering of Mohawk guy could be heard as he shuffled after his gang, and that brought a small smile to her face. At least she had left her mark.

For how long they dragged her battered body along, Terra had no idea, but they seemed to have reached their destination as they entered an extremely rundown building. Terra did not get a very good glimpse of her surroundings as her field of vision was mostly limited to the thugs dragging her along the floor, but at one point she did managed to catch a small glimpse of a large room they passed. It looked like they were manufacturing drugs here.

It was barely a few moments later that she was roughly thrown inside what looked like a storage room. Though she could not see it, Terra more than heard the door slam shut behind her. Fervently she hoped that they had simply locked her in alone. Those hopes were dashed to pieces when a pair of boots entered her line of vision.

Letting her eyes travel upward, she had to admit that she was not that much surprised to fund Mohawk guy standing there.

"I'm going to make you pay for that kick earlier." he snarled out in utter contempt. But even though Terra felt a chill travel up her spine, she could not help but feel some form of satisfaction over that his voice was a few pitches higher than normal. But that small victory quickly lost its shine when he started undoing his belt.

Not good, not good at all.

* * *

Guard duty. Was there any other job in the history of jobs that could possibly be any more boring? Sure as hell did not feel like that for the two thugs guarding the door of the secret drug factory. Both were carrying AK-47's and one of them was leaning against the wall opposite of the steel door leading outside while his partner was half slumbering in a nearby chair.

A sudden knock on the door had both of them tensing up and grasping their weapons. The one leaning against the wall cast a quick glance at his partner before he approached the door. He quickly opened the hatch in the door to peer out. What he found was a young teenage kid, one of the delivery boys that ran errands on their behalf.

"Password." Even though he recognized him, the rules made it clear that he still needed to speak the password if he wanted in.

"There is no damn password, you dipshit." The boy answered. The guard always felt like shaking his head every time he heard it. Seriously, who the hell came up with a password like that? Though he did notice that the kid looked extremely nervous for some reason. There was even sweat breaking out on his brow.

"You okay there, son?" he asked curiously. The question seemed to snap the kid out of his stupor as he stammered out some barely cohesive sentence.

"N-no, I meant yes! Yes, I-I'm fine! I'm more than fine! I could write a book about being fine! That's how fine I am!" the kid rambled on. The guard just waved his hand dismissively as he began unlocking the door. Not his concern anyway. Probably something hormonally teenage related.

But as he finally opened the door to let him in, he was caught off guard by the kid being roughly thrown aside by a petite figure that had stood behind him. The next thing the guard knew, he had an AA-12 shotgun shoved right in his face. One pull of the trigger later, and he was sent crashing into the wall behind him.

The second guard was desperately trying to rush up from his chair, but barely got anywhere before the blue cloaked assailant stepped inside and blasted him out of his chair. With the immediate threats neutralized, Raven turned back towards the kid lying in a whimpering heap on the ground outside.

"You should consider a change of career, pal. Now go home, while I'm still in a good mood." She warned him. He was off like a meteor. With that little nuisance dealt with, Raven advanced inside the building, AA-12 held high and at the ready. Her entry had apparently not been the most subtle one, as she was met with gunfire when she came to the first junction.

Raven quickly took cover before she stuck her gun around the edge and fired blindly at her targets. It must have done some good since she at one point heard someone cry out in pain. But her twenty round magazine soon ran out and the enemy fire intensified.

"I hate it when I'm the one stuck at the wrong end of a shootout." She grumbled out while reloading her gun, all the while bullets continued to fly past her.

"Alright. Enough's enough." She stated as she pulled out a flash bang from her belt. Priming it, she hastily hurled it down the corridor. Gunfire came to a sudden stop and cries of alarm rang out just moments before the flash bang went off. Raven wasted no time as the second it went off, she rushed down the corridor.

Her first target was dispatched with a shot to the chest, with Raven never even slowing down when taking the shot. The next one was using a drum barrel as cover. Two rapid shots straight through the barrel eliminated him. The third one had taken cover inside a janitor's closet. He tried to come out and stop her, but Raven slammed the door right in his face and pushed him back in, throwing a primed grenade in after him before continuing on.

The fourth one had blindly stumbled right out in the middle of the hallway. He did not last very long with three shots to the chest. The fifth one was blindly spraying bullets in every direction, hitting one of his own in the process. A headshot later from Raven and he was down while Raven herself sprinted right past him.

The sixth one was hiding behind a juncture and was frantically rubbing his eyes in an attempt to get his sight back. It returned to him just in time for him to catch a quick glance of a barrel before Raven pulled the trigger once and moved on.

The last one had managed to recover from the flash bang and was in the midst of raising a pair of Uzis at Raven. Without hesitation, Raven ran right up to him. She leaped on top of him and used him as a springboard to launch herself right over him. She performed a somersault in midflight and put two shotgun blasts straight into his back before she gracefully landed on her feet.

Advancing forward, she found a pair of double doors right ahead of her. They were suddenly kicked open and two muscle bound thugs stormed out. Five rapid shots later from Raven and they were down for the count. She strolled past her latest victims and entered the room they had just left.

What she found was what at first glance would look like a lab. But the experienced ones would easily recognize it as manufacturing drugs. Currently, there were a handful of workers huddling together in fear inside. Raven loosened her grip on her AA-12 and lowered it so as to show she meant no harm to them.

"Alright listen up! I've got good news and bad news for you! The good news is that you'll all be given the night off! The bad news is that within the next hour or so, you'll all be out of a job! So scram!" she ordered them. No further encouragement was needed as they all bolted out of the room.

Cleared of obstacles, Raven pulled out a bottle with a piece of cloth tied at the top. From the other side of the room, another pair of double doors were kicked open and a whole posse of gun wielding thugs stormed in. they stopped dead in their tracks when they caught sight of Raven as she brought out a lighter.

"Any of you big bad boys thirsty?" she asked sultry as she lighted the piece of cloth. "Don't worry, the drink is on me."

That was about all the warning they got before Raven hurled the burning bottle right at the masses of samples and ingredients. As it shattered, and the flammable concoction inside it was set aflame, the unstable and highly flammable ingredients caught fire as well. Within minutes, the whole room was ablaze.

The thugs backed away in fear, lest they become burned alive. Raven meanwhile took the chance to retreat out a side door. But someone seemed to have spotted her in amid the inferno as bullets quickly came flying her way. She in turn emptied the last five rounds in her clip at them, killing three thugs.

She tackled the door open right before a hail of bullets would have shredded her before she slammed the door shut. Having entered an area temporarily abandoned, Raven let out a relieved sigh as she leaned against the wall and wiped her forehead clean of sweat.

"I would love to say something like 'I love the smell of burning drugs in the morning' but since it's in the middle of the freaking night, it would somehow not fit that well." She commented to herself. She was about to call it a day and go home when she heard the faintest of whimper coming from down the hall.

Immediately on high alert, Raven reloaded her AA-12 as she silently crept down the hall. She passed a few doors, but the sound was not coming from any of them. Finally, as she reached a room that was labeled "storage room" did she hear another whimper, followed swiftly by a male voice snarling something that sounded like "shut up".

Without hesitation, Raven blasted the lock to pieces before she kicked the door open and stormed in, gun held at the ready. What she found inside was a really ugly guy with a Mohawk hairstyle using a young blonde girl as a living shield while pressing a gun to her head.

"Drop your weapon!" he shouted at Raven, who for her part looked completely untroubled.

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing to you." she calmly retorted. Though she could not help but wonder about the girl, she looked so damn familiar to Raven. She had seen her somewhere before, but where?

"Now why don't you drop your gun, before you hurt yourself?" Raven pressed on, sounding as sincere as she could. It was obviously not working.

"Shut up! I have the hostage here! I'm the one in control of this situation!" he shouted with a near fanatical desperation.

"You're pointing a gun at a girl I've never met before. That's hardly what I would call being in control." Raven pointed out. It was a bluff in a way, she had met the girl somewhere. But where exactly had…

Wait! Blonde hair, check. Petite body, check. Deathly thin, check. Now that Raven actually took a good look at her, she was astounded that she had not seen it immediately. It was freaking Terra that thug was holding hostage!

Small world we live in, small world indeed.

While careful to look as indifferent as before, Raven was a swirling mass of worry right about now. She could not let Terra come to harm because of her actions. It would not be right. Plus, Slade would not be happy to hear that his latest candidate had met an untimely end.

"Don't act so high and mighty. If you didn't care about this girl, you would have pulled the trigger already." The thug pointed out while pressing his gun harder against Terra's head. Internally, Raven grimaced. He did have a point there. It was obvious that this guy had a couple of more brain cells than the average goon. By now, he was leering maliciously at Raven.

"Now, do as I say and drop the gun." He ordered while cocking his gun. Hesitating for a few seconds at first, Raven eventually complied as she held her left hand up in a non-threatening gesture while the other hand was slowly laying the gun on the floor. But as she began to stand up again, the thug never noticed how Raven discreetly slipped a knife out from her boot.

"I did as you asked, now let the girl go." Raven ordered. But the thug merely grinned at her as he removed the gun from Terra's template and aimed it at Raven instead. But before he got a chance to pull the trigger, Raven hurled her knife at him and it knocked the gun right out of his hand.

The thug had about enough time to utter a single curse before Raven was upon him. She grabbed his arm and yanked him off Terra before he delivered a kick straight between his legs. Between the painful shriek he let out and the blow to his stomach that followed up, he uttered a weak "not again". The blow to the stomach caused him to double over in pain and Raven finished him off with a knee to the face.

Having dealt with him, Raven hurried over to Terra, who had crumbled together on the floor the moment he had let go of her.

"You okay, Terra?" Raven asked as she shook her shoulders. Terra did not respond at first, but eventually she looked up and made eye contact with Raven. At which point her eyes widened in surprise, and a little fear.

"You." she managed to choke out. Obviously she recognized Raven from their last run in, not the best first impression Raven had to admit. She was tempted to tease her a bit, but it was at that point that the smell of smoke assaulted her nostrils. She cursed mentally to herself, she had completely forgotten the fire.

"Sorry, no time for pleasantries. This whole place is going up in flames as we speak, and we need to get the hell out of here." Raven stated as she stood back up and retrieved her AA-12 from the floor.

She cautiously peered out into the hallway, in case there were enemies out there, before she cast a concerned look back at Terra. "Can you walk?"

Terra nodded weakly as she staggered back to her feet. Even though she wore clothes, Raven could still see the signs of a brutal beating on her. She was fighting just to stand upright. Yet she still persevered, Raven had to give her credit for that. Sadly, now was not the time for compliments, not if they wanted to survive.

"Good, now let's move out." Was all Raven said before she sprinted out of the room with Terra in tow. For the next few minutes, all they did was run down hallway after hallway, having to turn back on several instances due to fire blocking their way. Finally, ahead of them lay a door with the text "exit" stamped above it.

"Finally." Raven muttered as she sprinted towards the door. Terra was about to follow when she heard something behind her.

"Stop right there!" someone shouted from behind the girls. That someone turned out to be a thug aiming a Beretta M9 against them. Instincts instantly took over, and Raven spun around to fire three rapid shots at him. He was dead before he even hit the ground.

"Idiot." Raven muttered as she turned to keep walking. But Terra was not moving. Her eyes were locked on the bleeding corpse lying on the floor in mute horror. She tried to speak, but her words were dissolved into nothing before they even reached her throat. Raven finally noticed she was the only one moving and turned back in surprise towards Terra.

"What the hell are you doing, Terra? We gotta move right now!" she shouted to her, but Terra was unresponsive. So with a resigned groan, Raven sprinted back to her.

"Come on, we ain't got all day!" she stated as she grabbed Terra's shoulder and roughly dragged her along. That at least seemed to snap Terra out of her trance as she struggled to keep up with Raven. Kicking the door open, the two of them ran out into the cold night air. The moment they were outside, Raven gave a relieved sigh.

"Well, at least they did not have a posse waiting for us outside." She commented. But Terra was not listening to her, she kept staring back the way they had just come from. This had been the first time she had ever seen a human getting killed like that, and it had shaken her to the core. Seeing her companion's expression, Raven walked up to her and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

"We can't stay here any longer. This place will be crawling with cops any second now, and I ain't too keen on spending the night in a cell." She said. Terra slowly turned her eyes towards Raven and gave her a small nod. That was all that Raven needed as she began leading Terra away from the scene.

* * *

It was hereby official; the universe was out to get him. First Slade tips off the authorities about Joseph's illegal operations, then a Deadshot wannabe tries to waste him on his way home from the court, and now someone had the nerve to torch one of his drug factories. Along with wasting more than a dozen of his best men!

When Joseph got his hands on the perpetrator, he was going to skin that bastard alive! But alas, such fantasies were of no help to him now, as he stood amid the burned out wreckage of his small factory.

"Anything, Ghost?" he suddenly asked. In response to his question, the black bodyguard from earlier stepped forward.

"Nothing to report as of yet. And whoever did this is without doubt long gone by now." He answered calmly, looking as emotionless as a statue. No, scratch that, a statue could display more emotions than what this guy was doing about now. The answer prompted Joseph to angrily kick the ashes he was walking on while spouting out a list of curses that would give a catholic priest a heart attack.

No doubt the cops were already on his track again thanks to this. Now he would have to spend even more time and money on shaking them off. At this rate, he would go broke before Slade's assassin even had a chance to finish him off.

"Boss, we've got a survivor!" someone shouted from amid the wreckage. That caught Joseph's interest as he was in motion within seconds, his bodyguard Ghost mere steps behind him. What they found when they arrived were two thugs standing on either side of quite an ugly individual with a Mohawk hairstyle crouching on the ground, cradling his male anatomy while rocking back and forth.

"Get him on his feet." Joseph ordered with a sneer. The two thugs hastily grabbed one arm each and hoisted him to his feet. The man looked like he could barely stand, so the thugs held their grip on him.

"Now tell me, who did this?" Joseph harshly demanded of the man, who flinched from the authoritarian tone. Nevertheless, he managed to squeak out an answer.

"It was some gun swinging chick wearing a blue cloak." He answered meekly. Ghost instantly perked up, something that did not go unnoticed by his employer.

"You know who this is?" he asked suspiciously, receiving a nod from Ghost.

"Her name is Raven. She's an old student of H.I.V.E. Academy and a notorious mercenary. She mostly operates in Jump City but has been known to work abroad as well." He explained before he paused in hesitation. "Rumor has it that she's also in the employment of Slade."

That last tidbit of information caused Joseph to let out another string of curses, though this time she let out some physical frustration by kicking the guy with the Mohawk hairstyle right between the legs. The two thugs holding him took that as a sign that their work was done and let go of him, letting him fall to the ground while clutching his battered balls.

"Send word out to all my lieutenants. Tell them to start search and destroy. I want that girl found." Joseph ordered Ghost, who nodded his head in understanding.

"Dead or alive?" he inquired. Joseph seemed to consider the options for a while before answering.

"Alive if possible. Dead, just as good." He replied nonchalantly, a feat in itself considering how he just wanted to wring someone's neck at the moment. Ghost gave a short bow before striding away to carry out his master's orders. Left alone, Joseph's eyes hardened as his hands balled into fists.

If it was the last thing he did in his life, he would make this Raven pay with every ounce of his being. Before the night was over, she would truly grasp the true meanings of fear and pain.

* * *

The two girls were silently slipping through the alleys until they entered an old apartment complex. Creeping up the staircase, they eventually arrived at a room on the third floor that Raven opened up.

"Come on in." she said to Terra as she strolled inside, throwing off her cloak onto a nearby armchair that she passed on her way to the kitchen. As Terra herself hesitantly entered, she found the apartment of simple design. A kitchen and living room linked together, a bathroom and a separate bedroom. Furniture was in the form of a couch and two armchairs in the living room along with a table and four chairs in the kitchen.

"Make yourself at home." Raven called over her shoulder while rummaging through her fridge. Terra stood rooted to her spot at first, unsure whether she should stay or not. I mean for crying out loud, barely a few weeks ago, that girl had been pointing a freaking minigun at her!

But then again, who else could Terra turn to? So, while making sure she always had Raven within her line of sight, Terra took a seat in the couch. Feeling a little awkward with the silence, Terra tried to initiate some small talk.

"Sooo… you live here?" she tentatively asked. Raven shrugged her shoulders.

"Meh, only while I'm working here. Once I'm done, I'm heading back to Jump City." she answered nonchalantly before she emerged with a can of beer in hand. "Want one?"

Terra stared wide eyes at her, numbly shaking her head. Raven just gave another shrug before closing the fridge and popping the can open. She casually strolled over to an armchair standing opposite Terra and plunked down in it, taking a swig from her can. Taking notice that Terra was still giving her a shocked look, Raven raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her.

"What?" she asked curiously.

"Raven, was it?" Terra inquired, receiving a nod before she stated her problem. "You're a minor. Isn't it illegal for you to be drinking?"

At that, Raven could not help but smile in amusement. "You're asking me, a mercenary who makes her living breaking laws left and right, whether it is against the law or not to be drinking at my age?"

All Terra did was duck her head and uttered a weak. "Point taken."

Descending into an awkward silence after that, they each occupied themselves with something. Raven with drinking her beer, Terra with sitting with her head lowered and refusing to look at Raven. Finally, Raven had had enough of that.

"Okay, that's it. If you've got something to say to me, then say it already." She stated irritably, causing Terra to finally look at her. There was a certain amount of anger in her glare, but also a bit of fear and trepidation.

"You killed him." Terra said in a voice bordering on a whisper. Raven cocked her head sideways in a confused manner.

"Who?" she inquired curiously. That caused Terra to grit her teeth in anger.

"You know full well who I'm talking about! That man back at the drug factory!" she accused heatedly, nearly leaping up from the couch. A raised eyebrow was the first answer she received from Raven.

"That's what bugging you? Me killing someone who would have killed us?" she asked for verification. When all she received was an ever colder stare, Raven could not contain herself and snorted in amusement.

"Girl, those assholes held you captive, and were going to waste both of us. They don't deserve your sympathy, 'cause they'd never give you any." She lectured Terra. But she was not about to fold just yet.

"That doesn't mean you had to kill him! You could have just knocked him out!" Terra practically screamed at her.

"At over 10 meters distance with you standing between us while my armament is designed for killing? How the hell could I have knocked him out before he pulled the trigger?" Raven questioned. Terra was left stammering for a few moments.

"I-I don't know! Couldn't you have…?"

"Why do you even care so much about a bunch of assholes who captured you?" Raven interrupted her, before a suspicious gleam entered her eyes. "And on that note, how did they even manage to capture you in the first place?"

Immediately, Terra turned her eyes away from Raven. That had been a question she would have preferred to avoid all together.

"They had me outnumbered. Got the drop on me, ya know?" Terra meekly offered without looking at Raven. Had she done so, she would have seen the skepticism in her narrowed eyes.

"I've seen you in action. If you had wanted, you could have sent those baboons flying to the moon." She pointed out, before a thought struck her. "Assuming, of course, that you used your geomancer powers."

By now, Terra was fidgeting nervously in her seat. The unspoken accusation was as clear as daylight in Raven's sentence, and Terra had not the heart to deny it. After all, what was the point in denying the truth? By now Raven had emptied her can of beer and leaned forward in her seat, giving Terra a critical look.

"So I guess I should rephrase my question; why did you not use your powers on them?" she asked flatly. Now Terra was full on squirming in nervousness.

"Why should I tell you anything?! It does not concern you at all!" Terra countered heatedly as she glared at Raven. For once, Raven did not respond with some sarcastic reply or witty comeback, but instead stared deeply into Terra's eyes with unnerving seriousness.

"You're right, it does not concern me in the slightest, and it's your choice whether you want to talk or not. But it might help you to talk about it. At least, that's what I've heard." She stated. Once again, Terra hesitated. She really did not want to talk about it, but at the same time she really wanted to let it out.

In the end, she came to a conclusion; _'What the heck, might as well give it a try.'_

"I'm…" she began hesitantly, pausing out of fear and uncertainty. "… I'm afraid to use my powers."

Raven said nothing, she just sat in silence and listened. She did however give Terra an encouraging nod for her to continue, which she eventually did.

"Ever since what happened at Jump City, I've been afraid to use my powers. I have no control over them, and I hurt people when I try using them. Even Beast Boy saw me as a threat." She confessed. That last part however caught Raven's interest.

"What does the green buffoon have to do with this?" she asked in curiosity. If anything, that question brought forth anger in Terra as her hands tightened into fists.

"He knew that I did not have full control over my powers. He swore that he would never tell anyone about it, but he lied. After what happened in the diamond mine, he told his team leader. He broke his promise because he thought I was dangerous."

A simple nod of her head was all the reaction that Raven gave to Terra's little deduction, but said nothing concerning her own speculations. _'More likely that bird boy figured it out on his own.'_

"This power, it's caused nothing but misery for me. I can't stay in the same place for long without people driving me away." Terra continued in depression with her head hung low.

"And for that reason you're willing to just stand around like a walking target when a bunch of nasty thugs decide to jump you for your money?" Raven questioned calmly, in stark contrast to her usual demeanor. Terra bit her lower lip at that, an action that did not go unnoticed by Raven.

"They did something more than a simple mugging." Raven stated, not asking. Terra weakly nodded her head.

"The… the Mohawk guy. H-he was g-going to…" she tried to finish her sentence, but her voice failed her and turned into a sob. Not that she needed to finish, Raven had already deduced what the guy had been planning to.

"Did he…?" Raven asked, she also finding the word too uncomfortable to speak out loudly. Though she did not need to either, Terra knew all too well what she was asking about. And internally, Raven let out a relieved sight when Terra shook her head.

"He was going to, but he never got that far until gunfire starting echoing down the hall. I guess he found other priorities." Terra tried to jokingly answer. Though the joke sounded hollow to both of them.

"So if I had not shown up, he would have done… _it_, and you would have done nothing to stop it?" Raven questioned yet again. By now, Terra's lips were trembling in fear while her hands were fidgeting with each other.

"W-what could I-I h-have done? He w-was m-much b-bigger and s-stronger than…"

Her little breakdown was promptly halted when Raven threw her empty can straight at Terra's head. Her mouth snapped shut and her head snapped up in surprise. Not from pain, that hit had barely hurt at all, but more from shock at what Raven had done. Raven for her part looked completely untroubled.

"Thank you for shutting up, it was starting to get on my nerves." She said flatly before standing up and walking up to Terra, forcing her to look up at Raven to make eye contact. Though for some reason she was unable to keep it up for long, the way that Raven was staring at her made Terra uncomfortable.

"I can understand if you're hesitant to use your powers, considering how little control you have, but that's not what you're truly afraid of." Raven began, lifting up a halting hand when Terra was about to protest. "What you're really afraid of is being rejected."

Of course, Terra tried to deny the accusation, but was once again silenced by Raven. She was far from done with her.

"Don't even bother denying it. You're afraid of people hating you and casting you out. That's the real reason you never stay for long, and that's why you refuse to use your powers now."

Without warning, Raven drew one of her Desert Eagles and pressed it against Terra's forehead. "I could pull the trigger any second now and send you off to an early grave if I wanted. Would you just sit there like some pathetic twelve year old waiting for your death?"

Terra had no answer at the moment, she was far too scared by the possibility that Raven just might pull the trigger. Naturally, she let out a relieved breath when Raven removed the gun and holstered it again.

"It's not wrong to be afraid. Fear is often a crucial factor in keeping us in line and not do something reckless. But you can't allow that fear to rule over you, and you most certainly can't allow it to be your death. If you're gonna die, then you should at least die with the dignity of knowing you fought your fear." Raven stated.

"You had it rough with the Titans. Sad story, but don't let it weight you down. Learn from it instead, and grow stronger from the experience." With her little speech finished, Raven picked up her cloak and strolled towards the door. "Feel free to stay here for as long as you wish, I'll be heading back to Jump City soon anyway."

Terra followed her departure with her eyes, not speaking until Raven had her hand on the door handle. "You're going to kill more people, aren't you?"

Pausing with the door half open, Raven turned her head slightly to look over her shoulder at Terra.

"Yes." Was all Raven said before fully walking out of the apartment, closing the door behind her. For the briefest of moments, Terra was tempted to maybe try to stop her, but instantly decided against it. Not like she could have stopped Raven anyway.

That left Terra alone in the apartment to silently mull over what had been said within its walls. And as much as she liked to deny it, Raven's words had hit right on the spot and had shaken her up quite a bit.

It had also sparked a question in Terra; did she really want to live in fear of rejection for the rest of her life? Would she really die, simply because she was too afraid to defend herself?

* * *

"Have you guys heard the rumors?" a rough looking thug asked his five buddies that were sitting around the table playing poker.

"What rumor?" another one asked curiously as he threw a couple of more dollars onto the board.

"That Slade has sent a hitman to waste our boss." The first one revealed while peering at his cards.

"Yeah, I heard that too." A third one stated.

"I heard that he has sent none other than Raven." the forth one added conspiratorially. The first three gave him unsure glances.

"Nah, that can't be true. Surely Slade would not go so far as to send _her _of all people." The second one speculated. At that point, the first one grinned maliciously as his eyes landed on the fifth player, an ugly fellow with a Mohawk hairstyle.

"Why don't we ask our esteemed colleague here. 'Cause if I'm not mistaken, you had a little 'run in' with Slade's hitman, am I right?" he asked sweetly, earning snickers from the other three and an angry grumble from the Mohawk guy. Thankfully for him, their focus was quickly back on the game.

The first one spread out his five cads, revealing a queen, a nine, two fives and a six. The second one had three tens, a four and a seven. The third one had a jack, two sixes and three eights. The fourth one had three twos, one five and one three. The Mohawk guy had a queen, two kings, one ten and one nine. The Mohawk gut grinned in victory.

"Sorry fellas, but this round goes to me." He stated proudly. He was about to collect his money, when suddenly five cards came sailing down from the roof onto the board. In curiosity, they lifted the cards to see what they were. They were all aces.

"Sorry, boys. But I think my hand is the best." A feminine, and to the Mohawk guy painfully familiar, voice said humorlessly. Without warning, Raven landed on the poker table and swung her feet straight into the face of the first guy. He was unconscious before he even hit the ground.

Raven leaped right over the second one and knocked him out with an elbow to the neck before dodging under a clumsy swing from the third one. She delivered a punch to his gut and a punch to the chest before delivering a roundhouse kick to the side of his head. The fourth one had drawn a gun and fired at Raven, but she managed to dodge the poorly aimed shots and disarmed him with a thrown knife.

He was never given a chance to recover before Raven attacked. She delivered a kick to his stomach before knocking him out with a haymaker to the underside of his chin. That only left the Mohawk guy standing, and he tried to foolishly charge at her with a knife. Raven gave a bored sigh as she grabbed his hand as he thrust it had her and twisted until he yelped in pain and was forced to let go.

Raven finished him off with a knee to his most sensitive, and abused, region. He collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain. With those nuisances dealt with, Raven began inspecting the area for signs of clues. Her eyes finally landed on a cellphone, which she immediately picked up and began inspecting.

"Alright. Let's see if I can find you with this." Raven murmured to herself as she brought up the connection list and scrolled down it until she found Joseph's number. She immediately dialed that number and waited for the call to be picked up. No one answered, but Raven still found his location.

She heard his ringtone right behind her.

"So you're the one that have been causing trouble for me. The infamous Raven." Joseph stated smugly to her as she turned around to face him. Within seconds, Raven found herself surrounded by Joseph's thugs, all aiming their weapons at her. If that was not bad enough, that metahuman from before stepped in between her and Joseph.

"Now, why don't you come along peacefully and I don't have to harm that pretty face of yours… yet." Joseph said sweetly, clearly enjoying his position of power. Raven's eyes traveled over his bodyguard, to the masses of thugs surrounding her. Now, she may be prideful, but she was neither stupid nor suicidal.

So with that in mind, she raised her hands in the air. A sign of surrender.

* * *

They brought her down to the docks, after they had stripped her of all her weapons. There, they had promptly chained her up with the help of handcuffs by her hands in the middle of a boathouse. Joseph was currently walking back and forth, rubbing his shin in thought, while two thugs were busying themselves beating up the defenseless Raven.

Finally, Joseph held up his hands and the two thugs stepped away from Raven, leaving her dangling from the chains. Joseph walked up to her and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"Why don't you just tell me what I want to know? I'm not asking for much, simply a small piece of information I can blackmail Slade with to back off, and in return you can walk away with your life." He offered. Raven's way of answering was by giving him a crazed grin with her bloodied teeth.

"Hey, I may be a merc, but I still have a rep to keep intact. If words get out I spilled the beans on my employer simply to save my own skin, I'd lose a hell of a lot of credibility in the villain community." She stated humorlessly, sounding as if the hour of beating she had just received was child's play. Joseph gritted his teeth as his hold on her tightened.

"Not a lot of use that credibility of yours will be if you're dead." He snarled at her, hoping to intimidate her in some way. Yet still that infuriating grin of hers was still plastered across her face.

"Maybe so, but at least I'll know you'll not be that far behind me. And that's good enough for me." She revealed smugly. By now, Joseph had lost all sense of patience and slapped her harshly across the face.

"Tell me what I want to know, or I swear to God I'll make your last hours alive a living hell!" he shouted at her with a rage fuelled by desperation. Raven slowly turned back to look him straight in the eye. That same grin was still on her face, but Joseph recoiled slightly from the glare she was giving him. It was void of any emotion, save hatred and pain that set his hairs on end.

"You're about 16 years too late for that, Joseph." She revealed calmly. He had no idea what it was about this girl that suddenly unnerved him, but he knew that he should not feel it. He had her tied up, beaten and defenseless with a host of his toughest men at his beck and call. Yet despite this, he still felt intimidated by this one little girl glaring at him with eyes that held far too much pain for a sixteen year old to have.

Maybe that was why he decided that he would be getting nothing out of her and decided it was simply best to dispose of her now.

"Ghost, kill her." he ordered while stepping away. While some of the thugs stared at one another in confusion over this sudden change of plans, Ghost acted without question or hesitation. He walked up to stand in front of Raven, staring deeply into her violet eyes as he drew his kukri.

With the gentlest of touches, he dragged the blade along Raven's cheek, at one point giving just enough pressure to draw a tiny sliver of blood. But Raven never so much as flinched from his actions, something that Ghost silently admired her for. He stepped closer, grabbing the backside of her head with his free hand while positioning the kukri against her throat.

"Any last words?" he asked politely. Raven gave him another one of her cocky smirks that always managed to infuriate everyone.

"I'll save a seat for you in hell for when you get there." She said in humor. Ghost showed no visible reaction to her word beyond a small nod.

However, before he could slice her throat open, the massive double doors leading inside were smashed open by a stone boulder. The boulder flew onward, scattering thugs in every direction, before landing in the waters outside. They were never given a reprieve as with a battle roar, Terra came flying in on a second boulder.

The second she came within the thugs' line of sight, a particularly ugly one with a Mohawk haircut was on his feet and pointing an accusing finger at her.

"You! I remember you! You're that little…" he never got further as Terra caused the ground right between his legs to fly upwards, nailing him yet again in his manly possessions. Plus sending him flying into the air a few feet.

"Who's next?" Terra asked cockily. The thugs' way of answering were by first looking at each other, then opening fire on her with everything they had. Terra formed an earth wall to protect herself while sending quakes through the ground, causing many of them to lose balance.

Terra was instantly upon them by launching dozens of fist sized rocks at them, knocking dozens out while the rest dived for cover. It proved in the end useless as Terra caused the very ground they were standing on to launch them high into the air.

While this was happening, Ghost lost interest in his victim and turned towards the bigger threat. That proved to be a mistake as with newfound strength, Raven lifted her whole body up from the ground until she was hanging upside down. She quickly tangled her legs up in the overhanging chains to steady herself while she pulled out a lock picker hidden in her sleeve. Wasting no time, she began working on the handcuffs.

"Who knew those escape lessons back at H.I.V.E. Academy would come in handy?" she mumbled to herself as the handcuffs clicked open and she flipped back down to the floor on her feet. Looking around the boathouse, Raven spotted her equipment lying on a table a few feet away.

She made a mad dash towards them without a second thought. But while the thugs may have been distracted by the blonde girl chucking rocks at them, Ghost was not so easily distracted. When he cast a quick glance back at his prisoner, his eyes widened in shock when he found her free from her bindings and running towards her equipment.

One thug stood in Raven's path, but he never even had a chance to shout out a warning to his mates before Raven elbowed him right in the throat and knocked him over. She reached her equipment, at which point she hastily strapped her belt back on and grasped her sword. But the noise of running footsteps behind her caused Raven to spin around, drawing one of her Desert Eagles in the process, and emptying an entire clip at whoever tried to attack her.

She was however to be disappointed as Ghost used his kukri, covered in the same energy from before, to slice through all of the bullets. He never even slowed down to do it, and Raven was forced to drop her gun and jump back to avoid a vicious slash aimed at her stomach.

But he was relentless and pushed on with lightning fast slashes and thrusts that steadily forced Raven back. She tried to draw her broadsword, but Ghost would not allow that and suddenly lunged forward with a slash that caught Raven by surprise. It slashed open a wound along her right arm, nearly causing her to drop her sword from the shock and pain.

"You're outmatched here, little girl." Ghost said menacingly as he advanced upon Raven again. She had by now been forced out on a wooden pier, where their duel continued. Ghost slashed high, she ducked. He slashed low, she sidestepped. She tried drawing her sword, he came in with five rapid slashes that forced her even more back.

He advanced on her with a flurry of thrusts, but Raven suddenly rolled underneath his strikes and came up behind him. Before he could turn around, she delivered a kick to the back of his knee, forcing him down on his knees. Raven wasted no time in drawing her broadsword and lunging at him.

But he rolled clear of the first thrust before he deflected the second one and slashed open a wound on Raven's thigh. She bit a back a cry of pain as she staggered back from the attack. Ghost took his time to calmly stand back up on his feet while wiping the blood away from his kukri with a napkin.

"Do you see now why you're outmatched here? Your rudimentary skills are no match against my decades long experience." He arrogantly proclaimed as he made ready to attack again. But Raven was not about to sit back and let him come to her. Instead, she struck first, taking him by surprise.

She thrust high, she slashed low, she spun around to deliver a two handed blow, she tried sweeping his legs, she thrust against his chest, she did an overhead slash, she held her sword low and thrust high. Ghost was steadily forced back under this endless stream of attacks, having no chance to strike back with his much shorter weapon of choice.

But Raven was beginning to get tired out. Her wounds were still bleeding, and her body was still battered from her earlier interrogation. Ghost saw this, and began to press onward again. A fist suddenly slipped past Raven's defenses and knocked the wind out of her, nearly causing her to double over in pain. But she still had enough sense to block an incoming strike from Ghost.

The two became locked in a contest of strength, with Ghost looming above her and pressing down with all his strength while Raven was trying to hold him back with one arm. Seeing his imminent victory, Ghost smirked down at her.

"This is the end for you, Raven the mercenary." He said condescendingly. But to his surprise, she just smiled right back at him. His answer as to why she would do such a thing came when he felt a gun being pressed right into his stomach.

"Try blocking these, big boy." was all Raven said before she emptied the entire clip straight into his gut. Ghost began coughing up blood as his grip on the kukri failed and he staggered back from Raven. The kukri finally slipped out from his fingers, hitting the ground just seconds before Ghost himself did.

Taking a few seconds to catch her breath, Raven eventually staggered over to Ghost to find him still alive, though just barely. He was dragging in ragged and unsteady breaths while blood was leaking out of the corner of his mouth. Raven placed the tip of her sword against his chest, where the heart was located.

"Seems like you'll be going to hell before me. So why don't you be a good boy and save a good spot for your boss for when he gets there." Raven said just before she plunged her sword straight through him. He drew in one last ragged breath, and then he grew still.

With her opponent dealt with, Raven drew her sword out and began staggering back inside the boathouse. But she stopped herself when she was about to pass the kukri. Gazing at it in curiosity, she slowly bent down and picked it up. She turned it over in her hands a few times before, with an approving nod, shoved it down her belt.

Had she been paying more attention to her broadsword, she would have noticed that for a few seconds, it pulsated with a dark energy eerily similar to her own. Finally, Raven staggered into the boathouse, where she found every thug thoroughly knocked out and Terra sitting happily atop a pile of unconscious thugs.

"You okay there, Terra?" Raven asked nonchalantly while sheathing her sword. Terra meanwhile gave her a look of disbelief.

"If I'm okay? That's what you're worried about? Look at yourself, would ya! You're bleeding girl!" she burst out. Raven smiled mischievously.

"I ain't got time to bleed." She answered in a gruff tone. Terra blinked at her in confusion.

"What?" she asked. Raven could not contain herself and laughed at her face.

"Sorry, just a movie line I've always wanted to try out." She answered between laughs. At first, Terra looked shocked, but then she could not contain herself either and burst out laughing as well. But their little moment of humor was promptly ended by Joseph as he appeared with a loaded revolver.

"I'll kill you both!" he roared as he began squeezing the trigger. Raven was about to react, but Terra was faster as on pure instinct, she sent a massive boulder flying right out of the ground. Straight at Joseph. They both had time to see his eyes widen in panic before the boulder hit him. A squashing sound was heard seconds later when the boulder came into contact with the wall.

"Ouch." Raven muttered to herself, otherwise not having any other reactions to the sudden death. Terra on the other hand was standing as still as a statue, her eyes locked onto the boulder she just crushed Joseph with. Raven noticed this and cautiously approached her.

"Terra?" she asked concern. But Terra never so much as looked at her as she approached.

"I killed him." she suddenly said, mostly to herself. Raven had by now come up right next to her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"First time killing someone?" she asked, receiving a nod in return. "How do you feel?"

"It's strange, I know that killing is wrong. Yet despite that, I still don't feel bad about killing him." Terra admitted monotonously. Raven slowly nodded her head in understanding.

"Did you enjoy it?" Raven suddenly asked. Terra instantly swirled her head at her, eyes wide in fear and outrage.

"No! God almighty, no! I could never enjoy it!" she nearly shouted before dropping her tone. "I just don't feel any guilt over it either."

The two of them were silent for a few moments until Raven said. "That's good."

Terra once again looked back at her, this time in confusion. So Raven elaborated for her.

"Those that feel guilt or sorrow over killing someone are not fitted to do such tasks, but someone who actually enjoys taking a life should be locked away forever." Raven explained, receiving a slow nod from Terra. Suddenly, the sounds of sirens approaching could be heard.

"Cops are coming. We should get out of here before they show up." Raven said. Together the two of them made their way towards the door. That was when Raven spotted a familiar guy with a Mohawk hairstyle.

"Wait." She said to Terra before she staggered over to the barely conscious guy. Seeing who had approached him, he tried to give her a hateful glare.

"And what do you want, you little…" was all he got out before Raven delivered the strongest kick she could muster straight in-between his legs, causing him to scream like a little girl. With her task done, Raven hurried back to Terra. Said girl was looking at her with a confused, albeit amused, look in her eyes. Raven just shrugged her shoulder.

"For good measure." Was all she said before walking out, followed by an amused Terra.

* * *

Hours later, when the first rays of the slowly rising sun were beginning to climb over the horizon, we find both girls standing together on a road just outside of Los Angeles. Raven's wounds had all been bandaged up and she was back in her biker outfit while leaning against her motorcycle. Terra was standing in front of her, backpack slung over her shoulders.

"Well, I guess this is it." Terra said awkwardly. Raven just smiled while nodding her head.

"Yep, my job's done here, so I'll be heading back home. And I take it you want to lay low for a while." she stated. The two stayed silent for a few moments after that, neither quite certain what more to say.

"Listen, Terra. I don't usually say this very often, but… thanks for the save back there. I owe you one for that." Raven suddenly said. Terra held up her hands while shaking her head.

"Nah, no biggie. Besides, we're even." She tried to wave it off, but Raven would have none of that.

"No, I'm serious here. You ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask." She stated with conviction. Terra could not help but scratch the back of her head sheepishly.

"Well, I gotta go now. So see ya around." Terra said. Though just as she was about to walk away, Raven placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I think you did good work back there. You really got talent for this sort of work." She complimented her. "But you don't have to do this alone. You should take up Slade's offer."

Hearing that, Terra's eyes widened in shock and she swirled around to face Raven. "How did you know about that?"

"In case you've forgotten already, I do happen to work for him." Raven stated. But Terra was still looking skeptical.

"Listen, I can understand if you prefer to go solo. Heck, I tried that myself when I began my career. You know what happened?" Raven asked, receiving a shake of her head. "I got busted on my first night."

If anything, Terra looked more shocked than before as Raven continued.

"I had to enroll at H.I.V.E. Academy for about a year before I could head out on my own again." by this point, she placed both her hands on Terra's shoulder. "It's your choice whether you want to accept or not, but I really think that Slade can help you her. It doesn't even have to be a permanent deal, you can just learn what you want to learn and then head out on your own again."

For several seconds, Terra stared into Raven's sincere eyes. Doubt and uncertainty making themselves known again. What should she do? Should she take the offer or keep on walking by herself?

"I… I need time to think." She finally said in a quiet voice, though Raven still heard and gave an understanding nod while stepping back. She quickly mounted her motorcycle and put on her helmet. Before she started up her engine she had one last thing to say to Terra.

"See you soon, blondie!" and then, with a two-finger salute, she was off. That left Terra alone on the road as she stared after the fast shrinking form of Raven. Finally, when she was out of sight, Terra gave a small smile.

"Yeah, see you soon." She said quietly to herself as she began walking away, towards a new day.


	14. Chapter 14: Fear Itself

**Chapter 14: Fear Itself**

The smattering of gunfire, the boom of explosions and the clang of steel against steel. It all served as a beautiful symphony to Raven's ears. Would have probably been even more enjoyable if she was not kept pinned on an overhanging catwalk in the chemical plant, courtesy of that alien Starfire's annoying starbolts.

At least she had one consolation, Starfire had no chance to take to the air, or else risk flying into Raven's line of fire. As it was, Raven had to contend to fire small bursts at Starfire with her M4 carbine, keeping her pinned down as well. Around them, the sound of the other Titans fighting against sladebots could be heard clearly.

Clearly wanting to help her friends, Starfire peeked around the steel pillar she was using as cover and fired a wild barrage of starbolts. Raven responded by ducking and blindly firing the last bullets in her current magazine.

"Those starbolts of hers are becoming one hell of a nuisance." Raven grumbled irritably as she reloaded her gun before peering down the catwalk. That was when she noticed something she had missed earlier. Behind Starfire's cover, there a bunch of barrels marked with the warning sign that said they contained something flammable.

Good enough for her.

One well aimed bullet later, and Starfire's position was engulfed in fire. With one Titan dealt with, Raven rose from her cover and advanced along a catwalk in search of her next target. That target presented itself when a sonic blast demolished the support beams holding the catwalk up. Raven lost her hold on her M4, but at least managed to fire her grapple gun and safely swing down to ground level instead of crashing down with the rest of the catwalk.

She was however not given even a second to recover before Cyborg came charging at her like a bull seeing red. But Raven just smirked at him as she graciously flipped right over him, drawing one of her Desert Eagles halfway through and emptying the clip into his back at point blank range. Most shots just left dents in his armor, but one got lucky and hit at the joint of his shoulder, burying through the weaker armor there.

Cyborg grit his teeth as sparks started flying from the gun wound. Ignoring the pain, he spun around just as Raven finished reloading her Desert Eagle and retrieved the other. With a ferocious roar on his lips, he charged at her with a flurry of bone-crushing punches that were wildly thrown at her.

Raven actually laughed over his incompetence here. Sure, his strength was on a whole other level than her ever could be, but he completely lacked speed and agility. It was child's play for her to effortlessly weave in and out of his attacks, always staying just out of reach of his blows.

But as he tried a powerful swing at her, she ducked underneath it and darted inside his defenses. He was never given a chance to react before she pressed the muzzles of both her Desert Eagles into his left knee. Two bullets were promptly discharged and pulverized his mechanical knee before Raven leaped out of his reach again, leaving him to crumble to the floor with a cry of pain.

Nevertheless, he pressed on by forcing himself into a kneeling position and transformed his right arm into a sonic cannon. Raven was quick to leap back to avoid the sonic blasts coming her way before she fired away with her Desert Eagles at her unmoving target. The powerful .50 Action Express bullets mercilessly hammered his armored form until one glanced off the metallic part of his head.

The metal held, but it felt to Cyborg like someone had taken a sledgehammer to his skull. He lost focus on everything around him, and that was all that Raven needed as she reloaded her guns and took aim at the still human part of his head.

"Normally I'd say some catchy one-liner here, but I'm out of ideas for the moment." She stated just as she pulled the trigger. It never impacted against its intended target as Robin tackled Cyborg aside. Raven's face instantly lit up like a Christmas tree at the sight of Robin.

"Bird boy! It's so fun to see you again!" she exclaimed cheerfully at him. Robin just growled in anger as he brought out his bo staff.

"The feeling is anything but mutual, Raven." he snarled back at her. Her way of answering was by pouting at him.

"Don't be such a meanie here. We haven't seen each other for over three weeks now." Her face was suddenly split into that mischievous grin of hers that unconsciously sent chills up Robin's spine. "And I'm just dying to catch up on lost time."

Without missing a beat, she raised her guns again and opened fire on him. He desperately leaped aside, though not fast enough as a bullet went through his right shoulder. But he merely gritted his teeth and swirled around to throw a trio of explosive disc at Raven. The first two were blown apart before they reached their target, but the last one slipped past and detonated right in Raven's face.

Quick-thinking saved her from getting knocked out by leaping away. But Robin was quick to capitalize on his opponents momentary halt in fire and attacked. Raven turned back towards Robin just in time to watch him leap at her with a swing of his bo staff. She rolled under the first swing and tried to fire off a bullet in his face.

He just whacked her hand aside and the bullet sailed harmlessly passed him before driving a fist into her guts. It was quickly followed by a sweeping kick that knocked Raven off her feet. Robin tried to smash his boot into her, but she caught it with her hands and dragged him off his feet before rolling back up on hers.

Retrieving the guns she had dropped, she emptied the last bullets at Robin. He rolled clear of some, but several impacted against his chest. Thankfully the Kevlar held, but it still hurt like a bitch. Climbing back on his feet, while wheezing from the pounding his chest took from those bullets, he charged at Raven again.

Raven meanwhile flipped both guns in her grips and used them as clubs. A swing from Robin's bo staff was blocked, a low swing from one of Raven's makeshift clubs was dodged, a sweeping strike from the bo staff was deflected before a sudden blow from Raven's right club caught Robin by surprise and nailed him in his side.

He staggered back slightly, but was soon back on the offensive with a swing, then a thrust, then a low strike, then a high strike, then another thrust and finally an overhead blow that knocked one of Raven's guns out of her hand. A second blow knocked the other one out of her hand as well before a jab into her chest pushed her further back.

But Raven suddenly spun in a circle, drawing her broadsword along the way, and came back with a two-handed swing that cleaved Robin's bo staff in two. He barely leaped back in time to avoid a second swing, but was forced even further back as Raven pressed on with stabs and slashes.

Finally getting some distance between them, Robin brought out his retractable sword, just in time to block a decapitation strike. As the two became locked in a contest of strengths, Raven smirked mockingly at Robin.

"Come on, bird boy. Don't you learn from your past failures? You can't beat me in sword play." She mocked him just as she pushed both their swords aside and stepped forward to elbow him right in the face, followed by a pommel aimed against his head that he dodged. Robin tried to put some distance between them, but Raven pushed on.

She slashed high, she slashed low, she stabbed against his stomach, she aimed for his legs, she did a spin slash. Robin was barely able to keep up with the flurry of sword strikes that rained down on him. He knocked her sword aside and lunged at her, but she easily sidestepped the attack and gave him a small cut on his left arm.

It would have been more severe had Robin not twisted out of the way of the attack. He tried striking back, but Raven easily parried his strikes before knocking it aside and delivered a roundhouse kick that caused Robin to drop his sword. Giving a triumphant smirk, Raven rushed in for the kill.

So focused was she on Robin, she never noticed that a massive crimson fist was coming at her until it collided with her from the side and sent her flying into a support beam. While disoriented from the blow, she still had enough sense to leap clear of a second fist, though she did lose her grip on her sword.

"Okay, whoever did that is in sooo much trouble now." She muttered darkly to herself, just before her eyes landed on the culprit; Argent.

"Ready for another trashing, goth girl?" she asked cockily while smirking. But to her surprise, Raven just smirked back at her.

"If you're going to give me nicknames, at least have the decency to get them right. It should after all be _gun wielding _goth girl." She stated, right before she whipped out a Glock 19 from behind her back and opened fire on Argent. She hastily formed a barrier to protect herself, but one bullet slipped past and tore through her side.

With a cry of pain, she fell from her hovering position in the air. But her little distraction was all that Robin had needed as he leaped at Raven. A spinning kick disarmed her while a punch knocked her on her back. Raven however was quickly back on her feet, drawing her recently acquired kukri and counterattacked.

She slashed at his head, forcing him to bend backwards to avoid it, before lashing out with a powerful kick that Robin caught and twisted it, sending her spinning around in the air before impacting to the ground again. Raven struck out with her legs from her prone position on the ground, hitting Robin in the chest and forcing him back.

But barely had she got back on her feet before she got a taste of Tamarenian vengeance as Starfire smashed into her like a missile. Starfire slammed Raven right into a concrete wall, creating cracks in it, and kept her pinned against it while before powering up a starbolt in her hand.

"While you are a vile villain, Raven, I will offer you a chance to surrender now and avoid further harm done upon you." Starfire stated in a surprisingly furious voice. Then again, Raven had just shot three of her friends, anyone would be a bit pissed off from that.

"Thanks for the offer, but when it comes down to choosing between option A or option B, I always choose option C." Raven answered with a strained voice, courtesy of the great amount of pressure Starfire was placing on her chest. With that said, she dropped a primed grenade to the ground right between.

Eyes widened in disbelief, Starfire took to the air and flew a safe distance away, lest she be shredded by the blast. The thing was, it never came. It had been a fake. Raven was instantly off at a sprint while shaking her head in amusement.

"Was that alien really so stupid as to think that I would throw my life away that easily?" she muttered to herself as she made her way towards the exit. For a moment she considered turning back to retrieve her sword, she was after all rather fond of it. But in the end thought better of it. That sword would be pretty useless to her if she ended up in prison.

But Raven stopped dead in her tracks when a mangled sladebot was dropped right in her path, before it was crushed underneath a green gorilla. Raven crouched into a fighting stance, kukri held at the ready. Though before could attack, both Robin and Starfire came up behind her, blocking the way back.

Her escape was further hampered when Argent took up a flanking position to her right, clutching her wounded side but still able to fight on._ 'Well, this just took a sour turn for the worse.' _Raven thought grimly. Nevertheless, she would rather die than surrender to them, so she made ready to attack.

Unseen by all the combatants however, the broadsword that Raven had dropped suddenly became enveloped in dark energy. It suddenly began to levitate in the air as the energy around it began to build up in intensity. Without warning, that gathered energy exploded like a tidal wave, sweeping through the chemical plant and demolishing everything in its way.

The Titans and Raven only realized something was wrong when the building started rumbling as if a bombing run was being carried out. The next clue came when dark energy ruptured forth and surged towards them.

"Titans, move!" Robin shouted in alarm as he and his team scrambled to get out of the way. Raven took that moment to fire a grapple gun and swing herself up on an overhanging catwalk, but her narrowed eyes never strayed far from the dark energy running amok inside the plant, surveying it with suspicion.

"That's my power, but how the hell can it be loose like this with me still in control?" she questioned. This really should not be possible, Raven had her power well and truly locked away inside of her, it should not be possible for it to tear its way free without her knowledge.

The sound of metal impaling rock was suddenly heard right next to her, and when she turned to see what it was, she found her sword being impaled in the wall. Now her suspicions had grown even larger than before. Just what the hell was going on here?

Nevertheless, now was not the time to ask questions. Now would be a perfect opportunity to slip away while the Titans were scattered and preoccupied. But she would get her answers sooner or later.

With that, she silently slipped out a nearby window and vanished into the shadows of the evening.

Back inside, the dark energy that had earlier ravaged the chemical plant began to subside, until it had vanished completely. And with the threat gone, the Titans began to come out of whatever cover they had found.

"Titans, sound off!" Robin called out.

"Here!" Argent answered while leaning against a support beam that had miraculously survived, still clutching her bleeding side.

"Here!" Beast Boy answered as he swung down from his position on the roof, where he had hung like a monkey.

"Here!" Starfire answered as her boots made contact with the ground again, her clothes and skin a bit singed from earlier but otherwise okay.

"Here!" Cyborg answered as he tried to stand back up again, only to fall flat on his face as his busted knee gave away beneath his weight. Starfire quickly rushed over to Cyborg while Robin brought out his first-aid kit as he rushed to Argent.

"You alright?" Robin asked as he began applying bandages to the wound.

"I'll live, if that's what you're wondering." She replied. But as the Titans helped their wounded comrades, Beast Boy had a very important question on his mind.

"Uhm… does anyone know what that black thingy was that hit us and where it came from?" he asked while rubbing the back of his head in confusion. Robin had just finished bandaging up Argent just as Starfire came back with Cyborg's arm swung over her shoulder, the big guy having to utilize her as a crutch to remain upright.

"I have no idea." Robin answered truthfully, and it irked him to no end. That strange dark energy was unlike anything he had seen before, none of their known enemies had that kind of power at their disposal.

"Could it be a new trick of Raven?" Starfire asked, but Robin shook his head.

"I'm not completely convinced. Raven have always been using guns and swords, she has never displayed any superpowers." He answered. But while Starfire's suggestion seemed unlikely, it was the only one they had. Robin would just have to look deeper into this matter.

"Let's just go home, you both need rest and more medical attention." Robin finally announced while sending a look at both Cyborg and Argent. No one felt like objecting.

* * *

"Excellent work, Raven." Slade complimented her as she stepped inside their secret lair, cracking her stiff neck along the way. His back was turned to her and his single eye was staring at the multitude of screens in front of him.

"Though it is a shame that you were unable to fully complete your task." He suddenly added in a patronizing tone, never even having the good grace to turn around and address her directly. Raven sent a scathing glare at his turned back, wishing he at least could face her when criticizing her work.

"Cut the bullshit here, we both know you had no interest in that chemical plant whatsoever." She countered heatedly. While still not turning around to face her, Slade did raise a surprised eyebrow at that.

"And what makes you think that, dear child?" he asked in curiosity. Raven meanwhile folded her arms over her chest.

"You've never before cared about stuff like that, being more interested in robotics and whatnot. And now suddenly you send me along with four scores of your sladebots to steal some samples and wreck the plant? That hardly fits with your M.O." she explained. Slade actually chuckled at that.

"Perceptive of you, Raven." was all he said on the matter. Still, Raven was not satisfied.

"So since we've made it clear my mission held no relevance other than drawing the attention of the Titans, which I'm sure was your plan all along, I want to know; what was your real objective?" she demanded, still more than a bit pissed off. And at last did Slade turn around to face her, though the narrowed eye he sent her way could in no way be good news.

"Do not presume that just because you're my top agent that you can come and make demands in my own base." He stated in a cold voice that set the hairs on your back stand on end. Raven instantly recognized her blunder of antagonizing her boss and averted her eyes.

"Sorry. Had a rough evening and I'm still a little riled up." She offered as an excuse. Slade seemed to accept it and turned his eyes back to the screens.

"Yes, and while we are on the topic of your evening…" Slade suddenly said, just before all screens changed to security footages of the battle in the chemical plant. Or more specifically, to the part were a tidal wave of black energy washed through the plant. Raven instantly tensed up like a piano wire when she saw the screens, she had hoped he had not been watching.

Obviously it had been too much to hope for.

"This strange energy seemed to appear out of nowhere and nearly brought the whole plant down. I have tried to find its source, but none of the security cameras had been able to record it." Slade suddenly paused in his explanation and turned his head slightly to look at Raven over his shoulder. "Do you happen to know what it was?"

While remaining stoic on the outside, Raven was shaking in nervousness on the inside. She knew all too well what it was, and it was not something she wanted to talk about. Especially not with someone like Slade. Problem was, he was a master of reading people. He would probably sniff out a lie like a bloodhound.

Still, there was the small chance that he would buy a simple lie. Either way, it sure as hell beat telling the truth, something Raven had every intention of taking with her to the grave.

"No, never seen anything like it before." She eventually answered, doing an astounding work of both sounding and looking completely clueless and uncaring about it, a far cry from what she really felt on the inside.

"Very well, you're dismissed." Slade said dismissively before turning his attention back to the screens. Not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, though still careful to contain the relieved sigh that threatened to spill out of her lips, Raven quickly departed and headed towards her room.

But while Raven may think that she had gotten away with no trouble, it was in fact the complete opposite. Slade had easily seen through her façade of cluelessness. She knew something about that power, but for some reason she kept quiet about it.

For the sake of the contract set up between them that ensured Raven's continued loyalty to him in exchange for a certain level of privacy and continued free reign of accepting one-time jobs outside of his sphere of influence, Slade would not press the girl for answers. That did not mean he would look into the matter, far from it. He was just going the longer route here.

And while Slade continued with his plotting and scheming, Raven had staggered inside her room. It was of Spartan design with a bed and a closet. All other surfaces were devoted to housing her innumerable collection of guns and ammunitions.

Without any real care, Raven removed her belt and let it unceremoniously drop to the floor before she threw her cloak off into a corner. It was only with her sword she showed any real care, as she removed the scabbard from her back and carefully hung it up on a hook on the wall.

With her equipment more or less removed, she fell face first onto her bed, thoroughly worn out from today. It did not take long for blissful sleep to claim her as she drifted off to dreams that she hoped would not contain the usual bits of fire, brimstone and the end of the world at her father's hand.

* * *

For how long she slumbered was unclear, given that it was underground with no sun to go by and no clocks within the immediate vicinity, but it was clear what had woken her. The red light constantly flashing and the sirens making more noise than a graduating high school class was as clear a message as it could possibly get.

Someone who was either extremely brave or incredibly stupid had infiltrated Slade's base.

Raven flew up from her bed like a lightning bolt, her body instantly ready for combat. Though it seemed like her mind had still not fully left the comfy bed as she clumsily fumbled around with her equipment before, after more than five minutes, had strapped her belt and cloak back on.

Being in a general hurry about now, she forewent her sword and instead snatched up a P90 before rushing out of her room. Whoever had disturbed her beauty sleep was going to be in so much trouble once she got her hands on them. Within minutes, she sprinted into the main control room used by Slade.

"Alright, boss, who's ass am I going to be shredding today?" she asked just as she entered, but was met only with silence. It took her a few seconds to realize that Slade was not present. That was odd in her opinion, Slade would not just sit idly by when someone invaded his home. He would have been here long before Raven.

Now that Raven thought about it, the alarm had also gone silent, and the red warning light had been replaced by this place's usual source of light. This just got weirder and weirder.

"Okay, Slade. If this is another stupid test of yours, I'm shoving grenade so far up your ass you'll have to spit it out." Raven called out in irritation. She was definitively not in the mood for Slade's little games. But still no answer came forth.

Now Raven was starting to get a little anxious and raised her gun slightly in defense. A sudden noise from behind her, almost too soft to be heard, caused her to spin around with her gun raised high and finger poised over the trigger, only to be met by shadows.

If this was a horror movie, this would have been the part where Raven asked "who's there?", but she was not that stupid. Instead she kept both her guard and her gun high, cautiously moving towards the computer screens. Maybe the security cameras could shed some light as to what was happening.

But once again she heard the sound from before again, like silken cloth gliding through air. Raven furiously swirled around, eyes scanning for a target to lock on to. But nothing came up. A sudden movement in her peripheral vision caused Raven to face that way, meeting once again nothing but shadows.

Her steps towards the computer system now grew more frantic as the soft sound grew more frequent, and Raven could even swear that she saw something moving in the darkness on multiple occasions. But they were always gone before she could get a bead on them. This was seriously taking its toll on her nerves, as she was nearly jumping at every shadow now.

A shrill laugh that suddenly echoed from all around her caused her last nerves to snap and she let loose with her P90, spraying bullets in every direction. Only when her clip ran dry did she let up her fire and hastily reloaded. No more sounds or movement could be found in the darkness after that and Raven assumed she had scared them off.

By now, she had reached the computer system and began typing in commands, seeking to bring up security footage. But what she was failing to notice was that a tendril of black energy was creeping up behind her, like a snake sneaking up on a prey. She was only aware of it when she felt something cold wrap around her ankle.

"What the…" was all she got out before she was yanked off her feet and thrown around like a ragdoll, with her screaming like a little schoolgirl the whole way. Finally, it smashed her straight into the floor again before more tendrils shot out of the darkness towards Raven.

But she was not going down without a fight as she was back on her feet with her P90 held ready.

"Take this!" she roared as she started spraying the appendages with bullets. That slowed them down, but did not stop them as the bullets went right through them. Raven was thereby forced to retreat as the tendrils came ever closer towards her.

"Damn it, what the hell are you?!" she shouted furiously before she pulled out a grenade and lobbed it at them. The following explosions seemed to disintegrate them and Raven took her chance to flee down a corridor.

But even there she was given no reprieve as a bone-shilling screech came from up ahead. Raven froze up in terror when a massive bird of dark energy came flying around the corner, its four red glowing eyes locked upon her with murderous intent. With a sudden burst of speed, it flew towards Raven, ready to skewer her on its beak.

Gunfire proved to be just as ineffective on this creature as on the tendrils from earlier. With but a few seconds before impact left, Raven threw herself forward to dive underneath the creature. Her heart rate skyrocketed to unimaginable levels when she felt its cold form just barely missing her and passing on above.

Without a single second's hesitation, she was up on her feet and running like the devil himself was upon her heels. Maybe that was not such a bad analogue after all, since that terrifying bird had somehow turned around in the narrow corridors and gave chase with another screech that chilled Raven's blood.

"Chew on this!" Raven shouted over shoulder in false bravado as she lobbed another grenade back down the corridor. The following explosion obscured the corridor in smoke and debris, but the bird itself burst through it unharmed. And worse, it was closing in on her fast.

It had been a long time since Raven had felt true fear, so long in fact that she had almost forgotten the feeling. Now, that feeling was coming back in spades, and Raven did not like it one bit. Up ahead, an elevator was standing open like a pathway to salvation for Raven.

"Come on, come on, come on!" she urged herself on as she picked up speed, dumping her P90 along the way. The bird was still closing in on her, its massive beak opened wide to snatch Raven up into its maw. Closer and closer did Raven come to the elevator until finally she threw herself into the waiting elevator, scant seconds before the door closed and the bird smashed into it.

The elevator shook from the impact, and a large dent was even formed in the door. Raven meanwhile found herself leaning against the wall in relief as the elevator started up, heading down. She even let out a relieved sigh as she thought she had gotten away from whatever those things had been.

"Now I just need to get the hell out of here, get in touch with Slade and then…" her little moment of planning was however abruptly halted when she felt something slimy enveloping her boots. Looking down in alarm, she found what looked like goo was rapidly filling up the elevator.

"Plasmus?!" was the first thing that came to mind, but what the hell would he be doing here? She was never given a moment to think about it as the elevator was filled to the brim with the goo, drowning Raven as her supply of oxygen disappeared. Thankfully, it did not last for that long as the elevator reached its destination and the doors opened up, spilling its content out on the floor.

Raven emerged from this mess greedily sucking in much needed oxygen into her strained lungs. Since the goo showed no signs of attacking her any time soon, Raven took the chance to catch her breath.

"What… the hell… is going on here?" she asked herself between gulps of air. This place was becoming crazier and crazier with every minute in her opinion. Eventually she managed to stagger back up on her feet, eyes peeled for any possible threat. Not feeling like sitting in the open, she began moving down the corridor.

Barely had she advanced a few steps before the next attack came. This time it was in the form of rats. Thousands of black, four-eyed vermin that crawled out of every nick and crevasse like a black tide.

"Yikes!" Raven burst out as she pulled out her Desert Eagles and opened fire on them. Whether her bullets were effective or not against the rats were unclear, and in the end irrelevant because there was literally no end to them as they poured out in ever increasing numbers.

Sadly for Raven, the bullets in her gun ran out long before the rats ever did, and she was forced to hightail it out of there if she wanted to survive. Onward she ran through the corridors, the living tide of rats barely a few steps behind her. Ramming a door leading to a staircase open, Raven slammed it shut after herself before practically leaping down the stairs.

Emerging three levels lower, Raven could hear how those accursed vermin were bursting through the door and swarming down the stairs. But she found no safety here either. The corridor ahead of her was infested with those blasted tendrils from earlier, grasping and twitching in the air like the tentacles of some humongous beast.

"Caught between a rock and a hard place." Raven muttered to herself just as the first few rats came down the staircase behind her. Seeing as standing still and doing nothing would just result in her death, Raven drew her kukri and leaped into the awaiting reaches of the tendrils.

The first three had no chance to grasp Raven before she cut them apart. A fourth one came from the side and Raven tried to cut it as well. The kukri just went right through it as if it was air. Not letting herself stop to wonder about it, she pressed on, kukri wildly swing in every which direction to ward of the dozens of tendrils attacking.

One managed to snare itself around Raven's ankle, but she was even faster with slashing down against it. The kukri just passed through this one as well, but Raven found that there was no longer any solid mass holding her leg in place anymore and she sprinted onward.

More tendrils came at her in an attempt to ward her off, but Raven's own attacks with the kukri grew fiercer and she steadily forced her way through. Behind her though, the tide of vermin was unhampered by the tendrils and spilled out in their thousands into the corridor. Each and every one of them dead-set on tearing Raven to pieces.

Taking her last three grenades, she threw them back the way she came before making a mad dash the other way. Thankfully, it seemed like the subsequent explosion delayed her pursuers long enough for Raven to reach the end of her little gauntlet. By now, she was standing outside the door leading into the gym.

"Well, any place is better than where I just came from." She mused to herself before she opened the door and entered. But what she found inside was not what she had been expecting. There, standing in the middle of the room with his back turned to her, was Slade.

"So you've come now, dear child. I was beginning to wonder if the obstacles in your path had been too much for you to handle." He commented offhandedly, hands folded behind his back. Raven glared suspiciously at his back. This just reeked of a set-up.

"Slade. Just what the hell is going on around here? What are those things attacking me?" she asked harshly, not even trying to conceal her anger and frustration. At that point, he let out a humorless chuckle.

"Can't you guess? I've decided that you're no longer of any use to me, and that you should be disposed of to spare me further trouble in the future." He revealed as he finally turned around to face her. He brought out an extendable bo staff from his belt and assumed a fighting stance.

Raven narrowed her eyes at him. This did not just add up in her mind. Where the hell did this sudden change in attitude towards her come from? No matter, she would have all the time to wonder about it later on. Tightening her grip on her kukri, she lunged forward.

Slade easily sidestepped her, before ducking under a slash, then dodging a second one before striking out with a kick that forced her back. He was instantly on the offensive as his bo staff struck her in her side. A second blow was deflected with her kukri, along with a third and fourth, but the fifth nailed her in the stomach and forced her even further back.

He attacked again, but Raven leaped sideways, rolled along the floor, before coming up with a loaded Desert Eagle in her hand and aimed at Slade. Two bullets were fired, both of which were deflected by Slade's bo staff. A third bullet was dodged and a fourth bullet was never fired as Slade had closed the gap and grabbed hold of Raven's wrist in a vice-like grip, nearly shattering it.

Raven bit back to pain a lashed out with her kukri against his face. He leaned back to avoid it but never saw the kick that followed. It knocked him back and forced him to let go of her wrist. She instantly revered her grip on her gun to use the butt end of it as a club.

But Slade looked completely unharmed by the attack, merely cracking his neck, quite audibly I might add, before making ready to attack again.

"Tell me something, Slade. What brought fourth this sudden change of plans?" Raven asked curiously. Slade just narrowed his lone eye at her.

"Does it really matter?" he countered before he attacked again. Raven tried hitting him with her gun, but he just swatted her weapon away before blocking her kukri with his bo staff. A backhanded slap later, and Raven was lying on the floor, about to get back up again when a kick sent her flying along the floor.

The kick left her out of breath and she was coughing and wheezing as she staggered back to her feet, swaying a bit. She attacked again, but Slade just tauntingly kept sidestepping her as she struck again and again. A slash from her kukri aimed at his head was stopped when he caught her wrist and twisted it to the point that it nearly snapped.

Raven screamed in pain as she was forced to let go of her kukri. Not a second later did she receive a blow to her stomach, followed by another, then another, then another and finally a judo throw that slammed her into the floor hard enough to create a dent in it. But even then did she try to fight one as she was in the midst of pushing herself back up again.

That got her nowhere as Slade's boot came down on her chest with enough force to shatter a few ribs. She was left gasping for air while coughing up a good amount of blood.

"Why do you keep struggling? Would it not be easier for you to just give up and let me end this quickly?" Slade asked as he grinded his boot into her chest, eliciting pained groans and more coughed up blood. In the end, Slade just shrugged his shoulders.

"No matter. This will end now, whether you want it or not." He stated as he lifted his boot, making ready to bring it down on her skull. At first, Raven was silent, just kept staring at Slade with a strange look on her face. Suddenly, she did the one thing you never expect a person who is about to die to do.

She began laughing.

Confused by her behavior, Slade lowered his boot to the floor and glared accusingly at her. "What do you find so funny here?"

It took Raven a few moments to collect herself from the laughter, mainly because her chest was practically crushed from Slade's boot.

"I can't believe I didn't see it earlier. All that dark energy, so similar to my own, and now this uncharacteristic attack from you." she said mostly to herself when she had calmed down enough to form coherent sentences again.

"Just what are you talking about, Raven? Having a hard time accepting that I have no further use of you?" Slade tried to taunt, but Raven just smiled up at him.

"Cut the crap here, I know you're not Slade." She stated with conviction. Slade narrowed his eye at her in what could be interpreted as anger.

"You're delusional here, dear child." He countered, yet still that infuriating smile of hers would not go away.

"Say what you like, act how you like, it won't change anything. I know for a fact that you're not the real Slade." She said. Slade kept up his glare for a few more seconds before he apparently gave up. With a resigned sigh, his form became encased in dark energy.

Within it, his form began to change. He grew shorter, his body grew more slim and feminine, his armor was turned into a hood and cloak, and when he finally opened his eyes, there were four of them. Eyes as red as blood, like jewels from the pit of hell itself.

As the dark energy dissipated and Raven finally got a good look at the real face of her attacker, what she found was herself. Standing before her, was an exact replica of herself. But this double had, as stated before four red eyes, wicked black claws instead of nails and an even paler skin than her, almost like a ghost's skin. She looked like a daemonic version of herself.

"**Congratulations, you saw through my illusion." **The daemon-Raven congratulated, her voice raspy and unnaturally deep for what should be a girl's voice. Raven narrowed her eyes at this new form.

"Alright, just what the hell are you supposed to be? Some second-rate daemon that was jealous of my good looks and decided to steal them?" she questioned. In response, the daemon laughed, its shrill noise was almost like a screeching bird.

"**Can't you figure it out? I never realized you could be this dimwitted. Then again, you are human. Your kind was never known for its intelligence." **The daemon taunted. But Raven was not about to rise to the bait, that was never a good thing to do when dealing with daemons. Though she did rise from the floor and made ready to fight on.

"**Since your primitive brain obviously can't put the pieces together, I'll do it for you."** the daemon announced before it was surrounded by dark energy; or to be specific, Raven's dark energy. **"I am you, Raven. I am the part you've repressed for all your life, the part you inherited from your father."**

Well, that explained all the crazy stuff that had happened this night.

"Just how the hell can you be loose like this? Last time I checked, you were locked up tightly in the deepest and darkest pit I could dig in my mind." Raven asked skeptically. Once again, a taunting smirk split the daemon's face.

"**I think you already know the answer to that question."**

To punctuate that statement, Raven's sword suddenly descended from above and embedded itself in the floor between the two halves of Raven's soul. The last piece of the puzzle finally fell in place in Raven' mind.

"The Sword of Damnation. Cooled in the blood of daemons." Raven recited from memory.

"**Correct. Funny thing is that it somehow gave the sword a daemonic taint to it. Therefore, I could use the sword as a conduct for my power, channeling it through the sword rather than through you. It also worked as a backdoor for me to sneak out of your mental prison."**

Damn, who knew a simple sword could cause so much trouble? Had Raven known this earlier, she would have never picked up that blasted sword to begin with.

"**Sadly, there are limits to how much of my will and power that can be channeled through this mere sword. However…"** at this point, the daemon's smile grew more feral and sinister. **"… The same does not apply to your body."**

Raven instinctively took a few steps back while clutching her wounded chest. "I don't like where that is going."

"**Father created us to be more than a pawn to a mortal. In fact, he created **_**me **_**as the harbinger of destruction, you were just an unfortunate byproduct of mating with a human. It's only right that I claim what is rightfully mine; your physical body." **The daemon sneered wickedly as it flexed its claws menacingly. Raven was not fazed by this as she picked up her kukri.

"Father created us as nothing more than a tool to be used once and then thrown away. You may want to be his little lapdog, but I want a life of my own making. Father can go and kiss his red ass for all I care, and I'm going to kick your ass back into your little pit again." she countered fiercely.

No further words were exchanged between them, as daemon-Raven flicked her wrist and sent dozens of dark tendrils at Raven, who for her part managed to jump aside before they could have skewered her. Without hesitation, she made a mad dash towards daemon-Raven, hoping to end this quickly.

A barrier made of dark energy put a serious dent in her plans and she was forced to jump back as a section of the roof was torn off and slammed into where she used to stand. Raven drew her remaining Desert Eagle and opened fire on daemon-Raven, but the bullets just passed harmlessly through her as she just let them phase through her.

"**That's the best you can do?" **she questioned tauntingly before she sent a massive talon made of black energy at her. She back flipped to avoid it, but the movement took a serious toll as it felt like her chest might just tear apart from the strain it was put under.

"Dammit, need to end this fast." She muttered to herself as she rushed in again, doing her best to ignore her wounds. But with a mere contemptuous wave of her hand, daemon-Raven sent a wave of dark energy that slammed into Raven and sent her flying back.

**"I'm truly going to enjoy your screams of agony as I tear you to pieces."** She gloated, already tasting victory on her tongue. But Raven was not down for the count yet as she slowly and painfully pushed herself back up again.

"Alright, that did not work. Need a new plan here." She groaned out. Without explanation, her eyes were suddenly drawn to her sword, still standing impaled in the floor.

"If that sword could let her out, then technically it should be able to lock her up as well." She quietly mused to herself. It was a longshot, but it was the only shot she had. With her target set in her sight, she sheathed her kukri and was off running again. Daemon-Raven just laughed at what she considered a futile effort.

"**You don't know when to give up, do you?" **she asked in amusement as she formed a spear of dark energy and sent it after her. It closed in with such speed that Raven only had a few precious seconds to react. She managed to dodge at the last minute and continued running towards the sword.

But the spear just turned around and came at her again. It was scant seconds away from impaling Raven when she reached it. With a great heave, she tore it out of the ground and spun around to meet the incoming attack. Black steel met black energy in a brief shower of sparks.

And in the end, black steel won as the spear was cleaved in two and the two halves sailed harmlessly past Raven.

"**WHAT?!"** daemon-Raven burst out in outrage, seeing her attack getting neutralized that easily. Raven lazily spun her sword around in practiced hands before pointing its tip at her adversary.

"My turn." She said before she rushed at her. Daemon-Raven tried to stop her by summoning bolts and tendrils of dark energy and sending them at Raven. She cut through all of them with her sword.

In desperation, she sent her massive black bird from earlier at Raven yet that too ended up cleaved in two. Nothing daemon-Raven threw at Raven could stand up to the black sword in her hands, the sword that thanks to the secrets used in its forging has granted it an immunity to all things supernatural.

Daemon-Raven was forced to flee in the face of Raven's attack, something she noticed gleefully.

"What's the matter? Is the offspring of the big, bad Trigon afraid of a lowly little human?" she taunted as she laughed. The daemon gave an animalistic growl at the insult.

"**You insolent fool! You'll pay for this!"** she snarled hatefully at Raven as her hands became encased in dark energy. Twin streams of dark energy shot out, taking the form of two gargantuan snakes ready to tear Raven to pieces. They quickly lunged at her.

The first one Raven just jumped right over as it smashed into the ground, while the second one was decapitated with a vicious strike. Raven barely even slowed down from this and continued on unabated.

"What? You can dish out insults and taunts, but can't take it when someone returns the favor? That's just pathetic." Raven commented offhandedly as she closed the final gap between them. With a defiant hiss, daemon-Raven formed a barrier between them as a last layer of protection.

"That won't stop me, four eyes!" Raven shouted as she thrust the sword straight through the barrier, impaling the daemon seeking refuge behind it right in her stomach. The barrier promptly shattered like glass and the two combatants were left standing in front of each other.

"You wanted to get out my mind, correct? Well, I'll be happy to oblige on that account." Raven said cheerfully as she twisted the sword around in her belly. "Say hello to your new home for the rest of eternity."

The moment those words had left her lips, the dark energy daemon-Raven had unleashed began to get dragged into the blade. Even daemon-Raven began to slowly disintegrate into darkness and be sucked up by the blade, despite how much she trashed and screamed in outrage.

"**NO! NO! I WON'T BE DEFEATED LIKE THIS! NOT BY THE LIKES OF YOU!"** she howled in fury, causing Raven to shake her head in exasperation.

"Girl, you just did. So suck it up and get over it." She commented humorlessly as nearly the entire daemon had been devoured by the sword by now. Said daemon glared hatefully at Raven.

"**Don't think this is over! No matter what you do, you'll never be rid of me! And when father finally comes, I will have won!" **she snarled out, just before what was left of her body disintegrated. And with a final screech of fury, was swallowed up by the sword.

Then, without warning, the whole world inexplicably turned black for Raven.

* * *

With a startled gasp, Raven bolted upright in her bed. Her hand was instantly drawn to her pummeled chest, only to find that it was unharmed. No pain, no wounds, no broken bones anywhere on her body. It was as if she had never been fighting in the first place.

Quickly analyzing her surroundings, Raven found that she was still in her room. Her equipment still lay where she had deposited them and she was still lying in her comfy bed. From this, Raven was able to only draw one conclusion; it had been a dream.

But that left her wondering about what had transpired. Had it all been her imagination? Nothing more than a nightmare conjured up by her own mind? Slowly, with cautious moves, she rose from her bed and walked up to her sword, still hanging on the wall in its scabbard.

Cautiously, she grasped the sword and drew it halfway out of the scabbard. At first, all she saw in the black steel was a hazy reflection of herself staring at the blade. But then her reflection suddenly grew four eyes, glowing an infernal red. Raven suddenly had the feeling that her reflection was in fact looking at _her,_ glaring with unbridled hatred.

"_**You'll never be rid of me."**_ The daemon's voice echoed in her head. But instead of being unnerved or intimidated by it, Raven actually smirked cockily at the daemon in her sword.

"That may be, but now I know exactly where I have you. And that's good enough for me." She stated confidently before fully sheathing her sword again. All in all, it had been quite a promising night for her. She was finally rid of that infernal daemon half of her and had it locked up where she never had to worry about it again.

"_Raven, report to the control room." _Slade's cold voice echoed across the intercom. With a certain amount of happiness to her steps, Raven quickly suited up and strolled down the corridor to the control room.

"You rang?" she called out happily as she reached her destination, an action that caused Slade to spare a sideways glance at her.

"You're in a surprisingly good mood all of a sudden." He remarked. Raven just smiled at him.

"I just had a very lovely dream." She answered, still sounding extremely satisfied. Slade mentally shrugged his shoulders, not his concern anyway.

"Onto the matter I called you here for. It seems we have a guest at the front door." He revealed as all the screen suddenly became occupied by the same image. But it was who they were depicting that caught Raven's interest. She could not help but smile even wider.

"I'll show her in." Raven called over her shoulder, as she had already turned around and was half-sprinting towards the entrance. She never even bothered to wait and hear what Slade had actually wanted her to do. An action that caused Slade to shake his head in resignation.

"Children these days, always in such a rush."


	15. Chapter 15: Date with Destiny

_I must admit, when I first began making plans on which Teen Titans episodes I would bring along in this story, I never intended to include this one. But then someone made a comment about how they wanted to see my version of Raven in Date with Destiny, and it got me thinking. So in the end, I decided to give it a shot. And I must admit, it turned out quite well in the end. Now obviously, don't take this chapter seriously, it's just a humor-filled chapter with no effect on the overall plot._

* * *

**Chapter 15: Date with Destiny**

Deep underground, where no light could reach and where darkness and evil thrived, lay a hidden laboratory. Dozens of glass cages occupied the spacious room, each filled to the brim with creatures spawned with a sinister purpose in mind; the utter destruction of this city.

"Patience, my children. Soon you shall wreak the havoc you crave." Their creator and master assured them as he worked on some diabolical device. "Soon I shall have the power I deserve. Soon the entire city will bow before its new master."

It was at this point that this sinister figure spun around, revealing himself as a monstrous moth in human form.

"KILLER MOTH!" he proclaimed as he began laughing maniacally. This spawn of evil had long hidden away from the world, but now he would strike out with the fury and vengeance that had festered for so long in his black and evil…

"DADDY! DADDYYYYY!" and cue in the mood ruining scream, courtesy of today's villain's spoiled and highly annoying teenage daughter. And like the good father he was, Killer Moth came barging in through the door within seconds.

"Daddy's working, Kitten. Can't this wait until…" he tried to reason, but was quickly interrupted by his daughter.

"No! He broke up with me! My stupid ex-boyfriend Fang broke up with me! And now I don't have a date to the prom!" she raged on while stomping back and forth in her room, until finally she collapsed face first on her bed and started crying. Naturally, as any parent would do, Killer Moth tried to comfort his child.

"Uhhm… there, there. I'm sure you'll find another date." was it me, or did he sound a little confused on what exactly to do? I guess even supervillains have just as much a hard time handling children as anyone else.

"Uh! Prom is tomorrow, daddy! I don't have time to find another date! So you're gonna find one for me!" okay, where did that part come from? Come on now Killer Moth, stand up to her, be a man, show her who the boss around here is!

"Now, Kitten, be reasonable! You don't seriously expect me to…"

"And I don't want just anyone, I want someone handsome, and popular, and totally cool! Someone who no other girl could get! Someone who will drive Fang wild with jealousy! I want…!"

* * *

We interrupt this highly annoying and embarrassing father-daughter moment and move our focus to something more exciting, like a car chase through the streets of Jump City. the chaser, the local superhero, celebrity and former sidekick of the man in black and cape; Robin. The one being chased, a stolen van filled with money, and which happened to have a guy with a spider's body for a head on the roof (Ladies and gentlemen, let's hear it for the winner of 'freaky looking villain of the year'!).

However, inside the van along with the driver, was a more familiar face among Jump City's criminals. Opening up the backdoors of the van, Raven peered out with an Ultimax machine gun, loaded with a hundred round drum magazine. Catching sight of Robin closing in on them on his R-cycle, she gave a predatory grin.

"I love it when the boys are chasing me." she stated as she took aim on him. The driver gave her a look of disbelief through the mirror.

"Are you crazy, girl?! That's Robin who's chasing us!" he shouted in panic. Raven just gave him a lopsided grin.

"Life can be such a short experience, why waste it on sanity?" she questioned humorlessly as she started spraying bullets at their pursuer. Robin cursed profusely as he was forced to take evasive actions, lest he ended up as a new decoration on the road.

"Damn Raven and her damn guns." He muttered to himself. Thankfully, he was soon joined by the rest of his team as Starfire and Beast Boy swooped down from the skies while Cyborg and Argent came riding into the fray in the T-car. Seeing the increased number of hostiles, Raven banged her fist onto the car roof.

"Yo, webhead! This is your heist too, ya know, so start putting your back into it and give us a hand here!" she shouted to him, receiving an irritated hiss in response. Nevertheless, he took her words to heart and began spitting out spider web from his mouth, hitting Beast Boy and sticking him in place to a wall.

"Superloogy!" he burst out in disgust as he feebly struggled in the web's grip. Meanwhile, the chase dragged on. The Spider-Man wannabe suddenly had a bright idea as he formed a sticky wall of web right in the path of the Titans. It looked like they were about to crash into this obstacle, but Argent used her powers to form a giant form of bridge for them to sail over.

Unfortunately, the few seconds they were airborne, they were easy targets for Raven. With a smirk on her lips, she let loose a burst of bullets that tore apart the front wheels of the T-car. When the two vehicles made contact with the ground again, only Robin was able to continue the pursuit while Cyborg's swerved wildly off the road.

"My baby! What has that monster done to you!" he cried out in anguish as hugged the steering wheel of his car, crying like a little baby.

"Are you 20 or 10 years old, Cyborg?" Argent asked in annoyance, being thoroughly ignored by the grieving man. With three out of the five Titans out of the game, the odds were slowly tipping in the criminals' favour. Raven emptied the last rounds in her gun a Robin before putting it away and began reaching for something else behind her back.

"Alright, bird boy. Let's see you dodge this one." She gleefully announced as she brought out an RPG and aimed it at Robin. He had enough time to widen his eyes in shock before the rocket came right at him. With no room to maneuver, he shot a grapple gun and swung to safety while his R-cycle was utterly vaporized.

Sadly, he left himself exposed in the air, something the spider head guy was more than happy to take advantage of. A blast of purple energy lanced out from his fangs and hit Robin dead center in the chest. His whole body instantly froze up as he began plummeting back towards the ground

"Can't… move." He complained with a strained voice. Though just before he would have made contact with the ground, Starfire swooped in and rescued him. She landed with the statue-like Robin with the rest of their time.

"He is… okay?" Starfire asked hesitantly as Cyborg stepped forward and began scanning him.

"He will be. The venom's effect is only temporary." He assured her.

"Getting away… we have to… go after them." Robin managed to press out of his numb throat. The venom made it hard for him just to speak. Of course, his words would have been taken more seriously if he had not begun to tip over like a tree being cut down. Thankfully, Starfire was there to catch him.

"Of course, except it should have been 'we must go after him', as in no you." Argent stated.

"You need to shill until that stuff wears off." Cyborg added. Naturally, that did not sit well with Robin.

"But…" was all he got out before he was interrupted by Beast Boy.

"Dude, we can handle it. The dude's got a spider for a head, not like he's gonna be hard to find."

And so it was decided, the Titans would continue the search while Robin recovered from the venom.

* * *

_(Small note; due to the next parts being exactly like in the real episode, I'll skip them and jump to the real juicy bits.)_

This was humiliating. No, scratch that, this was infinitely beyond humiliating. Out of all the demands that this Killer Moth could have made, why in all the nine levels of Hell did it have to involve a freaking date?! Robin was sure, beyond any doubt, that some form of higher power was laughing its ass off right about now.

"Really hoping she doesn't show." He muttered furiously to himself as he stood alone, dressed in a black suit. A gentle tap on his shoulder alerted him of a presence behind him. Fearing the worst, he steeled his nerves and turned around with a scowl on his face. What he saw however caused his scowl to melt away like butter in the sun.

There, standing in the most beautiful pink dress he had ever seen, was Starfire. For a few precious seconds, Robin's brain short-circuited from what he was seeing.

"Starfire?" he burst out in surprise, clearly not expecting to see her of all people here.

"On such occasions, I believe it is customary to wear a dead plant?" she inquired innocently as she fastened a flower to Robin's suit.

"Star, you're supposed to be helping the others track down Killer Moth." He stated to her, but she appeared unmoved on the subject.

"Your orders were to investigate the girl. I intend to investigate her thoroughly." She countered with conviction. "Besides, you may require saving. This Kitten is perhaps some form of ooze monster in disguise. She certainly is as ugly like a monster, yes?" Okay, that last part may have been a little too much. The first part was more than enough reason for Starfire to be present.

Robin was about to say something else, but was interrupted by the flashing of a camera from behind. Turning around to face whoever it was, Robin was granted the second shock of the evening. Just when you thought you had reached the bottom, someone always came along with a shovel.

That seemed true enough, for standing I front of him was none other than Raven, dressed in what some might call a provocative purple dress while having the most devious smile in existence plastered on her face. It was official now, some otherworldly power was truly out to get him here.

"My, my. You certainly look handsome in that outfit, bird boy." she observed sultry while making a big show of checking out every part of him. Robin meanwhile was close to choking on his own breath.

"What are you doing here?!" he finally managed to force out of his throat. That only served to elicit a light giggle from Raven as she sauntered closer towards him, taking great care to send a teasing grin at the fuming Starfire behind him.

"You know, just under an hour ago, I heard the craziest rumor ever. They said that the big, strong and handsome Robin had agreed to take Killer Moth's daughter to her prom. And naturally, my curiosity forced me to come and see this for myself." She drawled as she ran a finger across his chest.

Robin meanwhile was struggling with all his might not to attack her right there and then. He had a, albeit distasteful, mission to worry about. Instead he settled with grasping her wrist in a steel grip and forcing her back and away from him.

"Curiosity killed the cat, Raven." he ground out in anger, wishing he could just slap her in handcuffs and send her off to prison. Another one of her damnable seductive smirks split her face.

"But satisfaction brought it back." she purred, once again leaning uncomfortably close to him. By now, Robin was as red as a tomato, and it was not just from anger. _'Please, just strike me down here and now. I don't care if it's painful or not, just put an end to it all. Don't let me suffer through this humiliation.'_ He pleaded with all his might, receiving no answer to his plight.

Starfire was in no better condition, as her eyes were aflame with green energy. Her hands were just itching to put a starbolt right smack in Raven's face, anything to wipe that infuriating smile off her face. Any further words were drowned out as a honking pink limousine arrived on scene. And who was it that stepped out? Why, kitten of course.

"Yoohoo! Robbie-poo, your kitten has arrived, miau!" those were the words that left her mouth when she spotted Robin, receiving mixed reactions from the trio standing together. Robin looked like he had just swallowed something really nasty, Starfire looked absolutely mortified and Raven, well…

"Robbie-poo?" she asked, fighting with all her might not to fall over laughing at that point. Robin's whole face instantly scrunched up in annoyance.

"Don't ask." He muttered back to while repeating the same mantra over and over in his head; I must not strangle Raven, I must not strangle Raven, I must not strangle Raven.

"And Starfire." He suddenly spoke, gaining her attention. "Second thought, maybe I will need saving." With those depressing thoughts, he made his way towards Kitten, walking like a man walks to the electric chair. Come to think of it, maybe he would have preferred the chair over this?

He just wanted to get this over with as fast and as painlessly as possible, but naturally Kitten had to rub the fact that she was dating a hero into everyone's faces.

"Ohhh, Robin! My date, Robin! Don't you look handsome?" and while she was loudly proclaiming these things, she was leaning uncomfortably close to his ear. "Comment me on my dress." It was an order, not a request.

"No." he said quietly and monotonously, causing her face to get scrunched up in anger.

"Do it!" she commanded more forcefully. "Or else." She added for effect. That got him going at least.

"Nice dress." He managed to ground out between gritted teeth. Any person with half a brain could tell he meant those words just about as much as a lion telling an antelope that he had become a vegetarian and would be honored if the antelope would join him for dinner. I hope that made it abundantly clear concerning the level of intelligence Kitten possessed, given her next statement.

"Ohh, Robin! You're such a gentleman! Not at all like my worthless ex-boyfriend Fang!" by now, nearly everyone present had diverted their attention to the mismatched pair, some even sending looks of sympathy towards Robin.

"Now take my arm, lead me in, and would it kill you to smile?" the last part was spoken with a great deal of frustration on Kitten's part. In response, Robin tried to accommodate her wishes. Key word there; _tried._ That "smile" of his looked more like the tortured death grin of someone who had taken an overdose of curare.

"Maybe." Was the single pained word he forced out of his throat before leading his so-called date towards the ship the prom was held on. He did manage to catch a quick glimpse of Starfire and Raven in the crowd. While he was concerned for Starfire, given how there was literally smoke coming out of her burning eyes, he was more worried about Raven.

Why, you might ask? Because she had a frigging video camera in her hands and was recording the whole thing! When she noticed that he was looking in her direction, she gave him a wave with her free hand.

Okay, it was settled. Once he got her hands on her, Raven was as good as dead, regardless of the consequences.

Eventually he lost sight of them as he walked on board. Had he stayed a little longer, he would have seen how Starfire, in her female fury, brought a fist down on the limousine that Kitten had arrived in, squashing the engine compartment like it was made of plastic.

"My womanly intuitions are telling me that you're not all that thrilled about this." Raven remarked tauntingly as she walked up to stand next to Starfire, who for her part only glared with burning and smoking eyes at her.

"You. Stay out of this." Starfire snarled at her, only causing Raven to laugh at her.

"Sorry, no can do. This is grade A entertainment for me, and I ain't missing a second of this." She said before she slipped past Starfire and headed up the ramp. Starfire was only a few yards behind her after that.

* * *

The evening dragged on in much the same way. Kitten forcing Robin to go along with everything she wanted while Starfire watched them like a haunting ghost, with fury written all over her face. Still, this would have been at least semi-bearable to Robin if it was not for the fact that Raven was never too far from them either with her thrice accursed video camera.

Every time he saw her with that infernal device, he sent her the most vicious and hateful glare he could muster. Her way of answering was with a taunting smirk and sometimes even a blow kiss when Kitten was not looking.

Currently, Robin had been forcibly dragged out on the dance floor by Kitten. And he was holding his communicator in his hand like it was a lifeline. Things could not possibly get any worse than this.

"Kiss me." Okay, scratch that, it could apparently get worse. But for every man, there existed a breaking point. Robin had just reached his.

"Sorry, I don't like you that way. Matter of fact, I just don't like you." he stated with a certain smugness to it. Behind them, Starfire pumped her fist while silently saying "yes!"

"Awww… why did he have to ruin it so soon? We were just getting to the juicy bits here." Raven complained from her seat at a nearby table.

"WHAT?!" Kitten burst out in anger, yet Robin never lost that smug look on his face.

"Killer Moth is being taken down as we speak, we're done here." He said with a great level of satisfaction as he turned his back to her and walked away. But Kitten was not down for the count just yet.

"No, we are not!" she stated as she tore off the flower she had been wearing on her dress, revealing it to be a concealed trigger. "Daddy is not calling the shots tonight, Robbie-poo! I am!"

Now Robin looked to be on the point of panicking. Understandable, if you ask me.

"And unless you want me to let those nasty bugs out for a late night snack, you better pecker up!"

At that moment, Starfire's world cracked and fell to pieces. Quite literally if you are watching the cartoon episode. And Kitten was once again leaning in uncomfortably close, seeking a kiss from Robin.

"Never thought I'd ever say this, but I really feel sorry for bird boy right about now." Raven commented to herself while scrunching up her face in disgust. _Thank Azar that I never had any business contacts with her.' _she thought. Still, that did not stop her from bringing out her camera and recording the whole scene. _'Priceless, simply priceless.'_

But the long awaited kiss never transpired as Robin held up a finger and stopped Kitten from coming any closer.

"Not even if you paid me." He said as he snatched the trigger from her hand. The two quickly became locked in a tug of war as they each tried to tear the trigger out of each other's hands. That was when a new arrival made his entry on the floor.

"Fang?" Kitten burst out in overjoyed surprise, while Robin's eyes bugged out of their sockets.

"That's your boyfriend?" he asked in astonishment. Not surprising really, considering that Fang turned out to be spider head from earlier that day, and he looked absolutely livid.

"Get your hands off my girl." He commanded as he smashed aside any table that got in his way. Happy to oblige, Robin let Kitten fall unceremoniously to the floor while he made himself ready to fight. From her seat, Raven could not help but chuckle at the sheer irony of this whole mess.

With a simple smash from one of his spider legs, Fang knocked Robin aside and hurried up to Kitten. But he got no further as a starbolt suddenly sent him flying away.

"Keep your legs off my boy." Starfire said in fury with a pair of starbolts loaded up on her hands. Robin was taking his chance to stand back up again.

"Robin, are you injured?" Starfire asked in concern.

"Best I've felt all day." Robin stated as he tore off his suit, revealing he was wearing his traffic light costume underneath it.

"Seriously, bird boy, do you ever go anywhere without wearing those stupid rags?" Raven asked from where she was still sitting, now with a small plate full with snacks in her lap. Robin said nothing, but he narrowed his eyes at her while cracking his knuckles. He was seriously going to enjoy this.

"Hey, don't start throwing attacks at me here, I'm just her for the show." Raven said in obviously fake panic while holding up her hands in a surrendering gesture. "Besides, I think you've got other things to worry about." He last sentence was punctuated with her pointing towards where Fang and Kitten were. Turning back towards them, Robin was met with a charging Fang.

And so began the battle between Fang and Robin, with three girls watching from the sidelines.

"Ohhhh, isn't it romantic? They're fighting over me!" Kitten said with a dreamy look on her face, receiving a look of horror from Starfire.

"They are not fighting over you!" she countered heatedly, resulting in both girls glaring daggers at each other.

"Actually, you're both half right. Fang's fighting over Kitten, Robin's just fighting 'cause Fang's a criminal." Raven supplemented. Naturally, she was thoroughly ignored as Kitten and Starfire threw themselves at each other in a vicious brawl. It ended with Starfire's head submerged in the punch and Kitten in a chocolate cake. Something she was anything but thrilled about.

"You! Ruined! My! Dress!" she screeched in absolute rage before she pressed the trigger, releasing the swarms of mutant moths her daddy had created.

Meanwhile, the fight between Robin and Fang finally ended with Fang collapsing onto a table, unconscious before he even hit the floor. That only left Kitten still standing. And with a well-aimed starbolt, the trigger in her hand was knocked away and landed right in front of Robin.

"Consider yourself dumped." He stated just before he crushed the trigger underneath his boot. All that Kitten could muster in response was an anguished "NOOOO!". Robin for his part could not have possibly been more relieved.

"Now, that only leaves you standing, Raven." Robin commented smugly as he turned to face her, only to find her chair empty.

She had already slipped away.

But there was a note left on the table, and Robin hesitantly picked it up and read its message.

"Thanks for the entertainment, greatly appreciated. I'll send you a copy of my recordings."

For a few moments, all Robin did was stand there and stared at the message. Then his eyes narrowed in anger and he crushed it in his fist.

"I hate that girl."

* * *

On a small side note before I finish this chapter.

Robin refused to show himself publically after that for three weeks. The reason, an anonymous source had leaked footage and recordings of his date with Kitten to not only the media, but also every supervillain in town.

Even though they probably were miles away from each other, Robin could swear that he could hear Raven's mocking laughter every time someone teased him about his date.


	16. Chapter 16: Titan Rising

**Chapter 16: Titan Rising**

It was another beautiful day in Jump City. With cool winds, warming rays from the sun and so far not a single crime committed. Such a lull in criminal activity was something that needed to be cherished among the populace. At any rate, the Teen Titans sure as hell were taking advantage of this sudden free time, by playing a game of volleyball on the roof.

Well, to be precise here, four of them were playing volleyball. Argent was sitting and reading a book by herself. Unfortunately, Beast Boy was a little careless when he managed to hit the ball as a gorilla, as he sent it flying like a missile straight at Argent's back.

"Argent, heads up!" he called out in panic. The ball was mere inches from impacting against her when a crimson hand appeared in its way and caught it. With a mere backward glance, Argent sent the ball flying back with just as much force.

Fortunately, Beast Boy stood ready to catch it. Unfortunately, he was forced to use his own body to stop the ball. And so it impacted with quite a bit of force straight into his chest, even pushing him a few feet back. Now _that_ must have hurt like hell.

"Thanks, uhhh… good save." Were his parting words before he got better introduced with the roof of the building.

"Are you sure you don't wanna play, Argent?" Robin asked curiously. He was obviously considering the benefits of having her on his team. Soon however the rest of the team tagged along in getting Argent into the game.

"Yes, please! You must volley the ball with us!"

"Come on! I'll play with one hand behind my back." heck, Cyborg even removed his arm for emphasis there, but their efforts were in vain.

"Sorry, but I prefer a book over a ball." Argent stated without ever even looking up from her book. The others just shrugged their shoulders and went back to their game. Beast Boy began serving the ball, once again morphed into a gorilla. And once again he was a bit too overeager and sent the ball flying farther than intended. And once again it was headed towards Argent.

"Heads up, again!" he warned her once again. And they expected her to once again catch the ball. But here she broke the trend by instead hover over to the side and letting the ball sail harmlessly past her and off the rooftop, to the gathered distress of the Titans.

"OH NO! AHHHHH!" that was the unified response that the ball's sudden departure elicited from four of the Titans, Argent was still too engrossed in her book to even notice.

"I'll get it." Beast Boy grumbled out as he slowly made his way towards the roof edge. Though he was more than a bit surprised when the ball suddenly came flying back up on the roof. The single question that went through his head was this; how the hell could it get back up on the roof? The answer came hovering up on a rock with the sun right behind her.

"So, which team am I on?" Terra asked cockily with her hands on her hips. A tense silence followed her entry, as each Titan (minus Argent, who was still too engrossed in her book to notice anything.) digested the fact that someone they had thought they would never see again was back.

Terra herself took her chance to jump off her rock onto the roof of Titans Tower. Then…

"TERRA!" that shout of joy came from both Beast Boy and Starfire, and both were quickly locked in an epic race of love towards Terra. They continuously tried to push each other out of their way in their quest to be the first one to reach Terra. In the end, Starfire emerged the victor.

"Oh, hello long lost friend! You remember me, yes?" she questioned with overflowing enthusiasm as she enveloped Terra in yet another one of her killing hugs that left Terra out of breath. Literally.

"Of course, Starfire. I still have bruises from the last time you hugged me." She managed with great effort to squeeze out of her constricted lungs. When Starfire finally did release her hold on her, Terra was just glad she was still alive. Next in line was Beast Boy, who rushed up to her with a love-struck look on his face.

"Terra. You're… I mean I… how's it… what's up?" and he was left stammering out incomplete phrases like an idiot, to which Terra only smiled and gave him a hug while pinching his cheek like he was a little toddler. Not that Beast Boy seemed to mind it that much.

"Well if it isn't my favorite little rock 'n roller." Was the happy greeting she received from Cyborg, along with a high five.

"Cyborg, Robin. What's shaking?" she greeted back just as enthusiastically.

"Good to see you again." Robin acknowledged while shaking her hand. Beast Boy was instantly between them with a look of disbelief.

"WHAT? Is he kidding? It's great to see you again! I didn't think I'd ever see you again!" he loudly proclaimed, causing Terra to blush in embarrassment over the attention she was getting. Of course, there was still one Titan who had not even moved from her spot since Terra arrived.

"Argent, wake up! Terra's back! Isn't that awesome?" Beast Boy questioned enthusiastically. Of course, his overflowing enthusiasm crashed like water against rocks on Argent, who still did not even have the good graces to look up from her book.

"Great. Have a good time and don't forget to close the door when you leave." Was the monotone reply she gave, raising the question of whether she was even aware of what was happening around her.

"Actually." Terra began a little hesitantly. "I kinda wasn't planning on leaving this time." She admitted, right before announcing her intentions. "I'm ready to take you guys up on your offer. I wanna be a Teen Titan."

What she received however, was not the cheerful congratulations she had expected. Instead, she was met with uncertain looks and not-so-welcoming glances.

"Uhm…" was about the perfect word to summarize the current mood, courtesy of Beast Boy. On the inside, Terra felt a hollow feeling swelling up. She comes back to them, after several months of absence, ready to accept their invitation, and this was what she got? It made her hesitant to push on, but the comforting words of a friend of hers came to mind.

"_Remember. They hurt you, and I swear to God I'll hurt them so badly that their great grandchildren will feel it."_

However, she was still going to voice her displeasure on the matter.

"Got it, sorry. Didn't know the offer had an expiration day." She grumbled out as she turned around and was about to walk away. A reassuring hand on her shoulder stopped her in her tracks. Though she did not fully turn around to face him, seeing as small tears had begun forming her eyes and she would _never_ show such weakness to them.

"The offer didn't expire, we're just… concerned." Robin tried to awkwardly explain to her, leaving Beast Boy to try to come up with a better explanation.

"Yeah, it's 'cause well uhm… the last time when you kinda freaked out and ran away, you didn't exactly… you weren't completely…" key word; _tried_. And that left the explanation to Argent.

"You had zero control over your powers." Who of course was never a fan of beating around the bush and simply delivered her cold verdict straight in Terra's face, leaving Beast Boy absolutely mortified as he feared Terra would take offence and run away again. Surprisingly, that never happened, instead she actually smiled at her.

"Hellooo! That's why I left! Robin said I needed practice, so I've been practicing." She reveled proudly before she put on her goggles. "Check it out." Were her parting words before leaping back on her flying boulder and proceeded to give a most spectacular aerial show with four flying boulders.

"Glorious!" Starfire exclaimed just Terra passed overhead.

"Dude, she really has gotten better!" Beast Boy complimented eagerly.

"So she can do some fancy moves, big deal. It won't matter if she suddenly gives us an 8 or higher on the Richter scale." Argent commented coldly, clearly not that impressed or convinced by what she was seeing.

Terra suddenly formed a collision scenario where she was racing towards three other rocks, all centered above Titans Tower. But just as they were about to collide, she jumped off her rock and sent them all flying high into the air where they exploded like fireworks (Okay, how did that last part happen? 'Cause last time I checked, rocks weren't explosive by nature).

Well, at the very least, it provided with some nice fireworks.

"See? I've got everything under control." Terra stated confidently. How sad then that her statement became somewhat undermined when a rumble caused the tower to shake. Five looks were instantly sent her way, the accusation clearer than daylight.

"Wasn't me." Terra defended herself while raising her hands in a deflective manner.

* * *

Well, she spoke the truth when she said that it was not her doing. Question was, was it a good thing or a bad thing, considering the real perpetrator just made a grand entry in downtown Jump City by crashing right through a road. As the obviously mechanical construct reared itself high above the terrified people below, it was revealed to be in the shape of a giant cyclopean worm.

And, despite how strange it may sound, it looked really hungry.

A buss that had become stuck on the edge of the hole this worm had busted through was trying desperately to backpedal with all its might. Sadly, it got nowhere, and the worm had already zeroed in on its first target. With a mechanical roar, it dived towards its prey. But a pair of crimson fists suddenly appeared and snatched the buss away before the worm could reach it.

"You missed the buss." Robin commented as he and the Titans made ready for battle.

"Looks like you'll just have to take a cab." Cyborg added as he threw the aforementioned vehicle straight into the worm's face. He might as well have been throwing tomatoes at it for all the good it was doing. It reared back its massive head and lunged for the team, seeking to crush them to oblivion.

"Oh no you don't." Argent muttered as she gathered her powers to fend the machine off, but Terra suddenly stepped in and pushed her back.

"I've got it!" she shouted just before she caused the ground itself to rise up and smash the worm back. As it collapsed to the ground, Beast Boy rammed it from the side as a mammoth, but got blasted away by a red energy beam from the worm's eye. He was out like a candle and the worm was back up again, roaring in what could be interpreted as anger.

It targeted Beast Boy just as he began regaining his senses, but Terra came to his rescue by ripping up the ground they were standing on and utilizing it as a flying platform to get them to safety. Starfire took her chance to swoop in and deliver a strafing run on the worm with her starbolts before breaking off to avoid its eye beam.

Down on the ground, Cyborg was too blasting away with everything he had at the worm while Robin tried to come up with a strategy. Behind the two, Terra and Beast Boy descended to ground level, and Robin was quick to give an order to Terra.

"Good work, Terra. Now help me get in its…" he never got farther than that when several bullets smattered into Cyborg's armor, along with a fair share hitting his Kevlar covered back.

"Sniper! Get down!" Robin shouted as he dived for cover, along with Terra and Beast Boy. His back hurt like hell from those bullets, but at least none had gotten through. So he did what he had been trained to do and ignored the pain.

"Did anyone see where those shots came from?" he called to his team.

"No, never saw a thing. And I never even heard the shots being fired." Cyborg answered. Robin gritted his teeth in anger. But even if they had not seen who the shooter was, he already had a fairly good guess. There was only one criminal in town who used firearms.

"RUN FOR IT!" Beast Boy suddenly screamed in panic. Confusion had never even time to settle in before Robin realized just what had him terrified. After all, that roaring had gotten awfully closer and that massive shadow that suddenly covered him could not be good news. He managed to leap clear just before their earlier position was obliterated by the worm's massive form.

He was out in the open for about five seconds before more bullets impacted against him. And damn did they hurt, even with the Kevlar. He dived behind some cover wheezing as if his lungs had been mauled while clutching his battered chest. A rib must have broken from the bullets, if the pain was anything to go by.

He cautiously peered around the edge, only to dive back behind it as bullets started chewing away at the edges of his cover. He never even saw where the bullets came from. Heck, he never even heard them. Not surprising, given the noise that the worm was making. But for a brief moment, he could have sworn he heard footsteps approaching.

Peering over the edge again, he still found no signs of any hostiles. But he sure as hell felt it when something smashed right into his face and sent him flying back, landing painfully on his back. He was about to get back up, but something that felt like a boot suddenly smashed into his chest and kept him pinned to the ground.

"Honestly, bird boy, I expected a little more fight in you." the unmistakable voice of Raven said right in front of him, yet Robin was still not seeing anyone. The last piece finally fell in place in Robin's head as he narrowed his eyes at what looked like empty air.

"When did you get your hands on cloaking technology?" he asked just as Raven materialized right in front of him, still keeping him pinned to the ground with her boot and aiming an AAC Honey Badger at his head.

"The wonders of working with criminal masterminds; they have all the cool toys." She proudly revealed with a smug grin. Wasting no more time, she pulled the trigger, but Robin lashed out with his legs and unbalanced her. The bullets missed his head by a few inches. Before she could fire again, Robin was back on his feet with an uppercut aimed at her chin.

Raven jumped back to avoid it while drawing her kukri along the way. Going on the offensive, she slashed at his chest, then at his head, then at his stomach and then at his chest again. He was forced back by the attacks before he brought out his bo-staff and blocked another slash. But she pushed his staff aside and gave him a fist to his face, though he quickly retaliated with a blow to her side with his bo-staff.

"_**Destroy! Destroy! Destroy all of these pests!" **_Daemon-Raven suddenly hissed in Raven's mind as the two of them continued trading blows with each other.

"_Will you just shut up? Unless you haven't noticed, I'm trying to fight here!"_ Raven retorted mentally. Ever since she managed to kick out her daemonic half and sealed it inside her sword, it was like she had gained a backseat driver.

Sure, it could never try to take control of her body ever again, given how it was no longer _in_ her body, but that also meant that Raven could not just bury it up nice and good in her mind to shut it up. Seriously, it was like she had gained a constant travelling companion from the ordeal!

How it all affected her ability to control her powers, Raven did not know yet, and was not planning on finding out anytime soon. If she had her way, they stayed locked inside that sword until the end of times.

"_**If you'd only let me be in control…" **_Daemon-Raven began, only to be cut off by Raven.

"… _I'd be dead and gone by now and you'd be locked up in the nearest nuthouse. Now shut up! I'm trying to focus!" _

With that internal debate over, Raven aimed another thrust at Robin that was deflected before a spinning kick knocked her back. Robin tried to attack again, but Raven pulled out one of her Desert Eagles and fired off one bullet at point blank range. It hit Robin's chest dead-center, but the torn and battered Kevlar finally gave away and the bullet tore its way through his body and exited from his back.

Suddenly finding his strength gone, Robin fell backwards until he lay flattened out on the ground. Raven was meanwhile taking her chance to stand back up again with the intent of finishing him off. But the roar of the worm, accompanied by the sound of rapid digging alerted her that her back-up was leaving.

"Well, would you look at that? time's up, it would seem." She commented offhandedly as she holstered her gun. Robin was meanwhile fighting to get back up again and continue fighting.

"Get back here! I'm not through with you yet!" he shouted furiously at her, trying to sound intimidating. While he did succeed on that point, he failed to look the part; kneeling hunched over while desperately clutching a bleeding chest. Yeah, most likely not the most fearsome image you can imagine.

Raven's way of answering was with a wink and a two-fingered salute before pressing a button on her belt, activating the cloaking tech she was carrying. Not soon after, the rest of the team showed up, going from worried to absolutely terrified at the sight of their bleeding leader.

"Robin!" Starfire cried out in dismay as she dived down to his side, Cyborg not far behind with some bandages.

"What happened to the worm?" Robin asked while Cyborg began applying first aid, noticing how Terra and Argent were both glaring at each other. He would ask about that later.

"It turned tail and ran." Cyborg answered just as he finished patching up his leader. "Now it should hold until you get proper medical care, but I suggest avoiding any strenuous activities, like say crime fighting." he added rather bluntly to Robin, who for his part seemed more than happy to ignore the advice as he slowly got back on his feet.

"I'll take that into consideration. After we've stopped the worm, of course." He made it abundantly clear he was not quitting anytime soon. Together, the team made their way over to the giant hole in the ground that the worm had slinked into. It was when they were standing at the edge that Robin's communicator started beeping, indicating someone was trying to reach him.

However, as he flipped the screen up, Robin felt intense hatred bubbling up from inside him, for on the screen was none other than…

"Slade." That single name was spat out like the foulest tasting poison in existence from Robin's mouth.

"_Robin, good to see you again. I do hope I haven't called at a bad time."_ Slade greeted in what almost sounded like true politeness, before he seemed to notice the wound on his chest. _"And I see that Raven have been playing a little rough with you. The girl always likes to do things the wild way."_

"The worm. What are you planning?" Robin questioned heatedly. Kind of stupid move, if you think about it. Does he actually expect the madman to reveal his plan just because he asked him to?

"_Well now, Robin. If you're so very curious, why don't you come down here and find out?" _Slade challenged before he cut the feed.

* * *

Tracking that massive worm was probably the easiest thing ever. After all, it was not like you could lose its trail when walking underground. At least, that was how it was supposed to be, but it seems it was possible, given how the team just walked into a dead end (Okay, they were walking along the tunnel that the worm had dug itself. How in the world could it just come to a stop like that?).

"End of the road, it seems." Argent remarked drily as Robin brought out his communicator and was apparently scanning for something.

"Not necessarily." Robin corrected as he approached a section of the wall, apparently detecting something there. "I'm picking up a signal from deep inside the rock."

Cyborg approached as well with his own scanning. "Way deep. Electronics, and a heartbeat." He added, that last part striking a cord in Robin as his eyes narrowed.

"Slade." Once again, there was that one word spoken with so much venom it could kill twenty elephants in a heartbeat.

"How about we dig down there and see what's up?" Terra offered as she raised her hands in preparation. Of course, fate just loved to make fun of you as a sudden earthquake started shaking the tunnel. It only lasted for a short while, but it was still enough for Argent to give Terra a sour glare, obviously blaming her.

"Are you gonna give me that look every time there's an earthquake?" Terra asked in annoyance.

"Pretty much." Argent answered truthfully, right before that infernal worm from before decided to pop out of the ground just a few feet from them. The Titans backed away from it, but were caught unprepared as a second worm popped up right behind them, followed by a third.

They were now boxed in by three of those mechanical monstrosities. And they could barely handle one of them to begin with.

"Titans, ready!" Robin called out as the team formed a tight circle in preparation to face their enemies. But the worms had apparently other priorities, as they completely ignored the Titans and began digging their way towards the surface.

"Helloooo! The good guys are over here!" Beast Boy called after the worms while waving his arms wildly in the air. Clearly, he did not like to be ignored, even if that ignorance may have possibly saved his life.

"Dude, we got snubbed." He said in disbelief as he turned back to his team.

"Because we're not their target." Starfire concluded.

"Three of those worms together could wreck anything in the city." Cyborg added in alarm.

"We have to stop them!" Terra quickly announced, already making ready to rush after the worms.

"Yeah, but we also have to stop Slade." Argent easily countered.

"Split up." Robin suddenly stated. "Cyborg, Starfire and Beast Boy, go after the worms. Terra and Argent, we're going after Slade."

* * *

After some deep digging, the trio led by Robin finally arrived at Slade's underground base. What they found was a control panel placed on top of a platform that was located in the center of a spacious cave, with support beams placed along the walls to keep the whole thing from collapsing.

But what really caught their interest was the hovering metal circle that was spinning round and round just below the ceiling. What purpose it was supposed to serve, the trio neither knew nor wanted to find out.

"What is Slade up to?" Argent asked suspiciously. Robin could not help but share that suspicion. Suddenly, the flying circle activated three powerful lasers that began cutting through the solid rock. It was clear then, they sought to attack something on the surface from both underground and from the air. But what was the target?

"_Robin, it's the tower! They're attacking Titans Tower!"_ Cyborg's frantic warning from the surface made Robin's worst case scenario a reality. Dread instantly filled the trio as they gathered around the control panel. They noted absentmindedly that an RPG was leaning against it as well, but gave it no further thought.

"It's not just under attack. It's about to be underground." Robin sadly concluded as he watched the holographic image depicting the progress of the digging done from both above and below.

With newfound motivation, they launched everything they had at the drill, but made absolutely no headway. The damn thing just soaked up all the beatings and continued drilling as if nothing was wrong.

"Not even a scratch." He remarked angrily as he rushed back to the control panel, hoping to find a way to shut it down. "If we can't break the drill, hacking this computer is our only chance at shutting it down."

But he never got that far before the sound of something bouncing off metal could be heard coming closer. Barely a few seconds later, a grenade landed among them.

"GRENADE!" Robin shouted in alarm a bit too late as the grenade went off. Argent had enough time to bring up a shield to protect herself and Terra was the farthest one away from the explosion and only got knocked over with a slight ringing in her ear. Robin however went sailing like a cannonball and smashed painfully into the railing, bending it to the pint that it almost snapped.

A weak groan was all that came out of his mouth as he struggled to remain conscious. Argent dropped her shield and rushed over to help him.

"Easy, Robin, I've got you." she reassured him as she helped him back on his feet, an act that was almost impossible for him to do alone. Terra meanwhile had just gotten back on her feet when she felt a shadow come upon her. Looking up in surprise, she was met with a boot to the face that hit her hard enough to knock her right off the platform.

"What the…" Robin began as he caught sight of the attacker, right before another grenade was thrown at him and Argent. The explosion sent them both flying in separate direction. The attacker was quick to go after Robin, as he painfully tried to crawl back up on his feet.

He had just gotten up on his knees when his head was grabbed by two hands and was smashed straight into a knee, leaving him to unconsciously crumble to the floor. Argent meanwhile had turned to fully face the attacker, and finally got a good look at her.

"You again." she spat out in contempt as she glared at the deviously smiling Raven, who calmly sauntered over to the control panel.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Slade does not like kids running around playing on his property." Raven mockingly said as she picked up the loaded RPG and stepped away from the control panel. Argent meanwhile crouched low in preparation for an attack.

"It doesn't matter how many guns you pack or how big they are. I will beat you, and I will shut down that drill." She declared with conviction, prompting an even bigger grin from Raven. A fact that set Argent on edge.

"You want to shut down the drill?" Raven questioned as she raised the RPG and took aim on Argent, who in turn brought up a barrier to protect herself. The thing was, Raven never pulled the trigger, she just continued to smile at her.

"Tell me something, Argent. How do you plan to shut down the drill…?" Raven suddenly aimed her RPG at a different target. "… Without a controller?" Not even waiting for a reply, Raven fired off her RPG, straight at the control panel.

"NO!" was all that Argent got out as she helplessly watched their only way of shutting down the drill going up on flames. With her ammunition spent, Raven discarded her RPG and withdrew her twin Desert Eagles.

"Now it's just the two of us here. Wanna see how fast I can cut that number down to just one?" she questioned right before opening fire on Argent. The 50. Action Express bullets hammered remorselessly against her barrier, forcing her to strengthen it.

Raven took the chance to rush Argent while still firing away at her. Just as she reached the barrier, Raven flipped right over it and landed crouched right behind her. She lashed out with a powerful kick that knocked Argent over, who still had enough sense to roll clear of another kick from Raven.

But she was given no reprieve as Raven came at her again, wielding her now empty guns as clubs. Argent blocked an overhead strike, but got nailed in her side from a sideways blow, followed by a third blow from the other weapon to her cheek. She was knocked off her feet by a fourth strike to the chest.

Argent sent a crimson blast at Raven, forcing her back while Argent took the chance to get back on her feet. Raven suddenly rolled under the attack and came right at Argent again. She punched at Argent's face, but was deflected, she kicked at her legs but Argent jumped back, she punched again, she kicked again and suddenly performed a spinning kick that Argent ducked under, only to receive a fist to the side of her head.

She was sent flying to the side, but rolled along the floor until she was on her hands and knees. Pushing herself back up again, she had enough time to catch sight of Raven coming at her with an overhead strike with her drawn broadsword.

A barrier blocked that strike, but a low kick slipped under it and nailed her in the knee. She cried out in pain just as she lost focus and Raven easily sliced through her weak barrier to deliver a pommel strike to her chest.

But Argent managed to catch Raven by surprise with a crimson blast straight into her guts, sending her flying back and losing the grip on her sword. Argent quickly took advantage of this by sending more bolts of crimson energy at her. Raven began weaving back and forth to avoid them, steadily moving closer towards Argent.

Just as she reached her, Argent nailed her in the shoulder, sending her in a wild spin. But Raven came around with an elbow to Argent's face, breaking her nose and disorienting her for a few seconds. That was all the time that Raven needed as she grabbed hold of her and landed a devastating series of punches straight into her guts.

Raven then merely threw her adversary to the ground, who felt like her insides had been pulverized from the remorseless pounding. Still, Argent tried to push herself back up again, resulting in Raven's boot smashing into her back and pressing her back down.

"You know, that was kinda disappointing. I get way better fights out of bird boy." Raven commented nonchalantly as she pulled out her kukri. Absentmindedly, she noted how her sword seemed to pulsate with anger over being denied the chance to take a life.

Even though her daemon half hated her with the utmost of intensity, it could still put such grievances aside when in the midst of battle. Most likely because daddy dearest created her as a weapon of mass destruction. It was only natural that it would enjoy causing mayhem and destruction.

"_**Let me do it! Let me be the one to end her pathetic existence!"**_ the downside of course was that every time Raven was close to killing someone, that infernal thing would start howling and roaring over how it wanted to do the deed. It could be highly aggravating at times.

"_You'll get your chance later on. Right now I don't have time to pick you up."_ Raven tiredly placated the daemon. Honestly, sometimes it was so annoying that Raven considered locking it away for the rest of her life. While the daemon still seemed upset, it at least shut up and let Raven carry on.

She grabbed a fistful of Argent's hair while raising her kukri in preparation for a decapitation strike. A vicious smile spread across her face as she made ready to bring the kukri down on Argent's neck.

"Don't forget about me!" someone suddenly yelled behind Raven. that gave her enough warning to jump away from Argent, seconds before a boulder came sailing by where she had previously stood. More rocks came flying at her, and Raven rolled clear of them before rushing over to her discarded sword and snatching it up before jumping over another boulder.

Back to Argent, she rolled over on her back to get a good look at her savior. Despite seeing the flying rocks, she was still shocked to find that it was Terra who had saved her. They had been at each other's throats the whole day, imagine her surprise finding Terra willing to still fight next to her.

Terra said nothing, but she gave a friendly smile and extended a helping hand. Looking a tad bit dubious at first, Argent eventually gave her own smile and accepted the offered hand.

"Looked like you needed some back-up, so I decided to join in on the fun." Terra said when she had gotten Argent back on her feet, to which Argent waved her hand dismissively while massaging her sore back.

"Nah, I had it all under control. But thanks for the concern." She countered, causing Terra to roll her eyes at her before both turned deadly serious and faced Raven together, who for her part looked as untroubled as you could possibly get while lazily swinging her sword back and forth.

"So? Shall we get down to it, ladies?" she questioned pleasantly while pointing her sword at the pair. No verbal answer came, instead a massive crimson fist was sent hurling at her. Raven rolled clear of it, only to find a boulder coming down on her. But a swing of her sword later, the boulder fell in two pieces and Raven rushed right at Terra. Dozens of rocks flew right at her, but she dodged or cleaved apart everyone that got in her way.

Finally, she reached her target and sent a thrust at her guts. Terra did a limbo move before a bolt of crimson energy knocked Raven back. Argent was about to attack again, but Raven was faster as she reached inside her cloak and withdrew a handful of shurikens before throwing them with deadly accuracy at Argent.

Right before they would have impacted, Argent brought up a barrier to protect herself. Yet Raven was still not given any reprieve as the few precious seconds Argent was unavailable, Terra attacked with a massive boulder. Raven leaped right over it, only to find a hail of rocks following in its wake.

While managing to avoid most of them, Raven still got hit by several of them, leaving some really stinging marks. But by the time the barrage came to an end, Raven was still standing and rushed in for the kill. A spinning slash was avoided, but a sudden uppercut sent Terra flying a few feet into the air before slamming back to the ground.

Raven raised her sword and brought it down with all her might, yet it never made contact with flesh as a crimson barrier blocked the attack seconds before a beam of the same energy slammed into Raven from the side and sent her flying as well.

Preforming a flip while in the air, Raven landed safely on her feet just at the edge of the platform as Argent landed next to Terra. With a battle roar, she launched dozens of crimson bolts at Raven, who for her part leaped off the platform. But as she plummeted towards the bottom, she twisted around and fired her grapple gun at the platform.

Meanwhile, both Argent and Terra had rushed over to the edge, fearing the worst. What the found when they peered over the edge was Raven sailing back up at them with breakneck seed. Their brains had only enough time to register that fact before she knocked them both over.

Raven landed on her feet yet again behind the two disoriented heroines and spun around, aiming to cleave them both in half with one strike. Unfortunately for her, Terra still had enough sense to call upon her rocks to form a wall between Raven and the two Titans. As Raven's sword clanged uselessly against the rock, Argent flew over it and sent a crimson blast at her.

Twisting out of the attack's trajectory, Raven drew a throwing dagger and threw it straight at Argent. Naturally, it was blocked with a barrier, but it gave Raven all the time she needed to leap up on Terra's wall and use it as a springboard to launch herself ar Argent. She rammed straight into her shocked frame and dragged her back down to the ground.

As they impacted against the ground, Argent was unfortunate enough to land at the bottom and thereby soaking up most of the beating for Raven, who for her part rolled off her before somersaulting over another boulder sent at her.

She twirled around with her sword poised to strike out at a moment's notice as she faced down Terra and Argent yet again. Absentmindedly, she rubbed a few of her sore spots on her sword arm. Raven had to admit, those two was a tough combo to beat, and it was just getting harder and harder as more stones fell down from above, giving Terra more ammunition to use.

"_Raven, pull back now."_ Slade's cold voice suddenly ordered her from the communicator in her ear. Unseen by her opponents, Raven raised a surprised eyebrow under her hood. So soon? Was she not supposed to keep them entertained for a little bit longer?

Casting a quick glance up at the drill, she came to the realization that she may have occupied them a bit longer than first intended. _'Well, would you look at that? Time does fly when you're having fun.' _She thought in surprise as she turned her attention back to her opponents.

"Not that this hasn't been a blast or anything, guys, but I gotta run now. Let's do this again some other day." She called out cheerfully to her opponents. Argent, reacting a split second faster than Terra, rushed to stop Raven. But she was unable to do more than grind her teeth in anger as Raven gave her an amused wave of her hand before popping a smoke grenade.

And of course, when the smoke cleared, Raven had done her ninja thing and vanished.

"Dammit! She got away again!" Argent swore in anger, right before she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder.

"Uhm… I think we have a bigger problem than that." Terra stated worriedly. At the inquisitive look she garnered from Argent, she pointed at the rapidly collapsing roof. They were too late, the tower was coming down right on top of their heads.

"We have to get out of here! There's nothing else we can do!" Argent called out frantically, but Terra was of a different mindset as her eyes began glowing yellow.

"Yes, there is! Trust me!" she stated with conviction, right before yellow beams shot out of her hands and into the collapsing roof, desperately trying to push it back up. Terra struggled under the immense weight she was put under, almost being forced down on her knees from the strain.

Yet suddenly, the heavy weight somewhat lessened for her. Sparing a quick glance over to her right, she found Argent had joined in, as beams of crimson energy was launching out of her hands as well into the roof. Neither said a word to the other as they together poured all their strength into pushing their home back to where it belonged.

As they struggled together, Robin began stirring awake from the beating he took, and watched with pride eyes as his teammates united to save their home. _'I knew I made the right choice in putting those two together on this mission.'_

* * *

Meanwhile, on the surface, the three remaining Titans were in silent mourning over the apparent loss of their home. That was, until Beast Boy noticed a marvelous sight out in the bay where their home used to stand.

"No way." Were the only words he could muster to say in response to what he was seeing, gaining the attention of Cyborg who now also saw what had caught Beast Boy's gaze.

"Starfire, look." He said in wonder, but the last one in their group refused to do as asked, still keeping her head lowered in silent mourning.

"I cannot, our home is…" yet in contrary to her statement, Starfire did indeed look, and was just as stunned as her two teammates as she watched the island, their home, rising up from the sea again.

"… Saved!" Starfire finally concluded her sentence in joy.

"But how?" Cyborg asked, sounding just as joyous as Starfire.

"Terra." Beast Boy answered smugly, just as Cyborg's inbuilt communicator activated.

"_And Argent. Working together." _Robin added. The day was once again saved by our heroes.

* * *

Terra was ecstatic. She had been accepted onto the team, she had become a Teen Titan. She had gained their trust. Currently, they were heading out to a nighttime party to celebrate their victory and Terra joining the team. As they walked along the sidewalk, talking and laughing with each other, Terra could have sworn she saw something moving in a dark alley they just passed.

Stopping in curiosity, she peered into its dark depths in the hopes of catching sight of what may have been lying within. And there it was again, a swift movement that went from one shadow to the next.

"Hey, Terra! You coming or what?" Beast Boy called from up ahead, as the group had continued to move onward for a while until they noticed they had lost one of their own along the way.

"You guys go on, I'll catch up with you later!" she called back, receiving no reply but she could see they had resumed their pace. Cautiously, she began advancing into the alley, hands held at the ready in case of an attack.

Resisting the stupid urge to call out if anyone was there, she walked deeper into the alley, systematically going through every nick and cranny that might hide an assailant. Suddenly, she spun around and faced a deep patch of shadows with yellow glowing hands.

"I know you're in there! Step into the light!" she ordered harshly. A few tense seconds followed after the order, until something began stepping out of the shadows. And the mysterious fiend turned out to be…

… A freaking cat?

It gave off a cute little 'miao' as it harmlessly strutted part Terra. But while most would breathe out in relief, maybe even commenting on being too paranoid, Terra did neither. Why? Because that cat reeked of decoy that she could have smelled it a mile away.

And she was proven right when she felt the cool metal of a barrel being pressed against the back of her head. Walked right into this one, and it did not look very good for her now.

"Who would have guessed that a simple stray cat could prove so useful in distracting a target?" the unmistakable voice of Raven mockingly stated from behind Terra. "But I must admit, I'm a little disappointed, Terra. I thought you were better than falling for such a cheap trick so easily."

Yet despite having a gun against her head, Terra displayed a remarkable ability of remaining calm and indifferent towards the whole situation.

"Are you really so sure that you've got me and not the other way around?" Terra suddenly asked calmly. Being at first confused by the question, realization quickly dawned on Raven when she suddenly felt something sharp poking her in the back. Smiling despite the dilemma, Raven cast a quick glance over her shoulder to confirm her suspicion.

Terra had created a rock spike that stuck out of the ground. All it would take was one move, and that spike would impale her.

"Okay, I admit, you _are _good." Raven relented as she began lowering her gun. Terra relaxed her own stance in response to that. Big mistake, as faster than Terra could blink, Raven sidestepped the spike, twirled her around, knocked the legs from under her, grabbed her head, rammed it mere inches away from her own spike and finally pressed her gun back against Terra's skull. All of this happened in a matter of seconds.

"But not _that_ good." Raven added humorlessly as she effortlessly kept Terra pinned in this position. Feebly struggling in this grip, Terra cast a sour glare over her shoulder before she finally relented. The rock spike crumbled together as Terra stopped struggling in Raven's grip.

Satisfied with the results, Raven released her hold on her and stood back up. Terra meanwhile was just about to push herself up on her own when Raven extended a helping hand. Glancing between it and Raven's smiling face, Terra eventually relented and let out a light chuckle while grasping the offered hand. She was quickly hauled back up on her feet, where the two girls began laughing together.

"What are you even doing here, Raven?" Terra asked when her laughter had finally calmed down.

"I just wanted to swing by and congratulate you on getting on board with the Teen Titans." She answered humorlessly before a mischievous glint entered her eyes. "Plus, I wanted to see close up what you found so attractive in Beast Boy."

As a reward for her light teasing, a small tint of red suddenly colored Terra's cheeks.

"I do not find him attractive." Terra tried to defend herself, to which an even bigger smirk split Raven's face.

"That so? Then I suppose you don't mind if I give it a go with him? I've always wanted a little boy toy to play with." She teased even further, to which Terra started sputtering as she tried to wrap her head around what Raven was implying. At the sight of Terra's tomato-like face, Raven burst out laughing again, to which Terra playfully slapped her arm while mumbling "shut up".

"It's getting late, you should hurry up if you want to catch up with your friends." Raven suddenly stated, to which Terra suddenly became aware of the time flown by. She gave a quiet curse as she began rushing out of the alley.

"Hey, Terra." Raven called after her just as she reached the end of the alley. She turned around and gave Raven a questioning glance.

"Just remember to keep the line between friend and foe clear in your mind." She advised, no traces of humor here this time. Terra gave a small nod in acknowledgement before sprinting out of sight. Raven watched her go for a few more seconds before she gave a tired sigh and moved towards the opposite end of the ally.

"For your sake, Terra, please keep the line clear." She mumbled quietly to herself as she vanished into the dark of the night.


	17. Chapter 17: Winner Take All

**Chapter 17: Winner Take All**

Another shot fired, another bullseye. With a quick reloading of her Desert Eagle, Raven once again aimed down the indoor firing range at her target before opening fire again. And once again, she scored a bullseye on all her targets, save for the last one.

A frown marred her face as she inspected the last shot, five inches off the mark. She had already triple checked her weapons, so it could not be malfunction. There was no wind in here, so it could not have caused the bullet stray off target. That only left the option that she had not aimed well enough.

"I can accept such a failure when going up against bird boy and his band of misfits, considering their skills. But when I miss a static target like this? Now that stings a little bit." She grumbled to herself while reloading her gun. But she fired no more rounds, she was done for the day.

Holstering her gun, she picked up her broadsword that had been leaning against a nearby wall and strolled towards the exit. Along the way, after sheathing her sword, Raven also picked up an MP5. A groan born out of boredom slipped past her lips as she trudged through the underground corridors of Slade's hideout.

Ever since their last run-in with the Teen Titans, Slade had kept her on standby. Add to that, the criminal underworld had been strangely quiet as of late, meaning no new missions to pass the time. For the first time in a long while, Raven felt… bored.

Seriously, she wanted to be out on the field kicking butts, not staying cooped up underground.

"God, I wish that something, _anything_, could happen already." She pleaded mostly to herself. But it seemed that someone had heard her pleas, because in a sudden flash of white, Raven disappeared.

* * *

As sudden as her disappearance, Raven reappeared inside a dome-like structure. And barely a second after her arrival, another flash of white deposited another five girls, three of which she instantly recognized.

"Welcome, champions all!" a booming voice suddenly announced, originating from a white furred cat/ape man standing atop a set of stairs. "I am the Master of Games, and you are hereby invited to compete… in the tournament of heroines!"

Okay, when Raven pleaded for something to happen, this had not been at the top of "possible scenarios" list. But she could roll along with this as well. Sounded promising so far at least.

"The tournament of heroines. A friendly competition." A silent scoff slipped out of Raven. _'Friendly competition, my ass.' _Was the main thought going through her head. "Between the world's greatest young champions."

As he concluded that introduction, the red medallion he was wearing around his neck suddenly started glowing white before another flash of white started the second part of the introduction.

First in line was Starfire, who was depicted racing through the air with green glowing eyes while blasting away with her starbolts. "Starfire, the Tamarenian warrior with the strength of over a hundred men."

Next came Argent, hovering in the air as crimson energy played around her body while taking all manner of shapes. "Argent, a fiery girl, whose power is only limited by her imagination."

After her, came Terra, who with a mere stomp of her foot caused the ground to erupt. "Terra, a geomancer as unmovable as the strongest mountain."

Next in line was a hulking mass of muscle, dressed in a black-and-yellow tiger-striped singlet and a panther mask, being depicted charging the screen while smashing through anything getting in her way. "Pantha, strongest human girl there is." (Yes, I just made a Hulk reference here)

Finally, it was Raven's turn, standing calmly still at first before drawing her Desert Eagles faster than the eye could follow and spun around to fire her guns in every direction. "Raven, infamous mercenary, with a love of guns only matched by her skill in wielding them."

And, at last, rounding off this introduction, was a seemingly young and sweet little pink-haired girl dressed in blue and white, who turned into a crystal statue that deflected a battalion's worth of firepower. "Kole, the young heroine of the North Pole, with a diamond hard form that leaves even Superman envious."

"Six brave and worthy champions, but only one shall win." He at last finished his awfully long introduction of the whole damn thing. Though it all sounded nice and good, Raven still felt there was one matter that needed to be cleared up

"So, does the winner actually _win_ something in this competition of yours? 'Cause I ain't doing anything for free." Truthfully, she was considering partaking in this whether you could win anything or not. It was not like she had anything better to do at home.

"Rest assured, when the tournament is complete, there will be magnificent prizes." The Master of Games assured her, though there was a certain gleam in his eyes that set Raven on edge, and made her vow to keep a close eye on him during the tournament. "And of course, the winner will prove that she is the greatest young heroine on earth."

All in all, this deal sounded quite promising for Raven.

"However, any who do not wish to compete need only say the word, and I shall return you home at once." He added as an afterthought. Glances were exchanged among the competitors, but none seemed willing to back out.

"I don't see anyone looking for the exit." Raven stated, taking on the role of spokeswoman for the whole group. A satisfied nod, along with a smile, was the first reaction they got out of him.

"The challenge is accepted, the tournament begins. Prepare for competition." Those were his parting words before he too disappeared in a flash of white, leaving the competitors to mingle.

"Hey, what are you doing here? This is supposed to be a tournament of heroines, and you ain't a hero!" Argent said harshly as she glared at Raven, who for her part was casually leaning against the wall while inspecting her MP5. In fact, it looked like she was not even paying attention to Argent.

"Hmmm, you said something?" Raven asked absentmindedly without even turning to look at her. A fact that infuriated Argent even further. A reassuring hand was suddenly placed on her shoulder, belonging to Terra.

"Save it for later. You can beat her up to your heart's content in the tournament." She assured her, to which Argent slowly nodded her head in agreement.

"Champions! Round 1! Face your opponents!" the Master of Games suddenly announced. And in another flash of white, all the contestants vanished.

* * *

**Starfire vs. Pantha**

The two opponents materialized facing each other on a stone arena stretching away as far as the eye could see, with a literal forest of stone pillars rising up towards the skies. The moment they both appeared, Pantha was in motion as she charged Starfire. But rather than face her directly, Starfire took to the skies.

She first flew high above her adversary before she dive-bombed her with a barrage of starbolts. The volley sent Pantha flat on her back with pain racing through every part of her body, but she merely grit he teeth and jumped back up again. Unfortunately, Starfire was coming at her again with another volley of starbolts.

And Pantha, having no ranged weaponry or powers to speak of, did the only thing she could; she dived for cover behind a stone pillar. But Starfire was relentless as she performed a sudden U-turn in the air and came at her again.

This time, however, Pantha was ready for her as she smashed apart the base of the pillar before hefting the whole thing and swinging it like a baseball bat. Starfire was caught unprepared and was slammed straight into another stone pillar. Not about to let her prey get airborne again, Pantha charged at her.

Starfire had just staggered back to her feet while shaking her head from the impact. But she was given no reprieve as Pantha, with a furious roar, tackled her to the floor. Starfire was roughly pinned underneath the luchador themed heroine.

"Yield." She demanded of Starfire, who for her part narrowed her eyes at Pantha.

"Tamaranians never yield. And you have obviously underestimated my strength if you think this will hold me." She countered heatedly before, with a great heave, she threw Pantha off of her. Pantha crashed head-first into another stone pillar, but that only seemed to infuriate her as she was back up in no time and on the offensive again.

But instead of going airborne again, Starfire met her opponent head-on this time. They clashed in a test of strength as their arms became locked with each other and they both tried to push the other one back. Sadly, Starfire proved to be the superior one in this case as she began to steadily push Pantha back.

Growling deeply in her throat, Pantha suddenly reversed her grip on Starfire's arms and threw her over her shoulder and slammed her into the ground. Starfire had no time to react before Pantha performed the classical wrestling move of jumping on top of her opponent shoulder-first. That however only served to bruise Starfire as with a blast of green energy from her eyes, she sent Pantha flying off her yet again.

Taking a lesson from Pantha, Starfire ripped up a stone pillar and swung it like a club at her. Pantha saw the danger coming and threw herself flat against the ground, feeling how the massive makeshift weapon passed mere inches above her. The pillar instead crashed right into another one, demolishing that one as well and covering the whole battlefield in a thick layer of dust.

Starfire stumbled through the thick haze blindly, trying to find her opponent in a battlefield were you suddenly only could see a few feet ahead of you. Sadly, Pantha found her first as she suddenly came up from behind Starfire and grabbed her in a powerful headlock.

This time though, Pantha offered no chance for Starfire to surrender as she slammed her head-first into the ground before performing a kesagiri chop to her neck. Starfire was promptly knocked out of the fight.

"Winner: Pantha." The Master of Games announced as Starfire vanished in a flash of white.

* * *

**Terra vs. Kole**

The two of them reappeared in a flash of white on an open field, facing each other while making ready to fight. Terra was the first one to make a move as she tore up several boulders from the ground and launched them straight at Kole, who for her part merely turned to diamond. The boulders smashed into her seconds later, but they did not so much as leave a scratch on the girl.

More rocks were hurled at her, yet all they did was bounce off her diamond form, or simply cracked apart on impact. Finally, it seemed like Terra had run out of juice as she hunched over while breathing heavily, at which point Kole returned to her normal form with a cocky smirk in place.

"Run out of steam already?" she asked tauntingly, thinking victory was hers. But her confidence went down a few levels when Terra suddenly stood upright again, looking as fresh as ever and sporting a smug grin.

"Nah, just needed to trick you out of your diamond form." She revealed before with a simple stomp with her foot sent Kole flying into the air like a missile, making her scream like a little… well, for a lack of a better descriptive term, like a little girl. But as the laws of physics say; what goes up, must eventually go down.

Not counting Mad Mod's freaky brainwashing excuse for a school, mind you!

And so it was that eventually gravity took hold of Kole and sent her plummeting back down towards solid ground. Thinking fast, Kole turned herself into diamond before impact to avoid an untimely demise. But Terra had anticipated that move and turned the ground Kole was about to land on into quicksand.

So with a wet splash, she plunged into the liquid-like ground. Kole sunk all the way up to her neck before Terra solidified the ground again, leaving only Kole's head sticking out of the ground. Turning back to her normal form, Kole glared heatedly at Terra while struggling with all her might to break free.

Sadly, she got absolutely nowhere. And to add insult to injury, Terra strolled over to her and placed her foot on top of Kole's head in a victory pose. It was probably no surprise that she had the biggest grin imaginable plastered on her face as her opponent fumed beneath her boot.

"Winner: Terra." The Master of Games announced as Kole vanished in a flash of white, thereby removing Terra's footrest. That left waving her arms comically in the air as she tried to maintain balance, only to end up falling over face first onto the ground.

* * *

**Raven vs. Argent**

The last two combatants of round 1 reappeared inside a glass dome below sea level. The moment they got their bearings again, Raven sent an exasperated look up against the top of the dome.

"Really? You're doing the cliché one-on-one fight of announcing who fights who? What's next, you're gonna play the Mortal Kombat theme song while shouting 'fight'?" she questioned. Naturally, no answer came, not that it really mattered seeing as Argent was not planning on waiting around with how she just sent a crimson fist straight at Raven.

Catching sight of the incoming danger in time, she leaped right over it, spraying bullets wildly out of her MP5 at Argent. She was forced to halt her own attacks in order to create a shield to protect herself from the incoming bullets. But not even as Raven landed on the ground did she let up and just poured out more lead at her target.

But as her clip ran dry, Argent retaliated with a crimson talon that Raven rolled under before being forced to dodge left and right as Argent bombarded her with bolts of crimson energy. As she performed a limbo to avoid a trio of bolts, she drew her Desert Eagles and opened fire the moment she was upright again.

Argent took to the skies to avoid the deadly hail of bullets coming her way, but her constant dodging in the air caused several to impact against the glass dome itself. And apparently, it was not made of the sturdiest material around as cracks formed on its surface.

Both combatants froze up and with baited breaths, eyed the expanding cracks like they were nuclear bombs about to go off. Thankfully, they eventually stopped expanding and the glass seemed to hold. A pair of relieved sighs echoed out across the dome, right before they started throwing bullets and crimson bolts at each other again like nothing had happened.

A crimson fist slammed right into the floor where Raven had stood before she rolled clear, right before she threw a shuriken straight at Argent. A cocky smirk was on Argent's face as she formed a barrier to stop it. What came as a surprise for her though was that it exploded on impact, shattering her barrier and sending her smashing into the glass before falling back to the ground in a daze.

Shaking her head in a vain attempt to clear the dizziness away while crawling back up, Argent got a face full of the back of Raven's Desert Eagle, as she used both her spent guns as clubs. She reeled back from a blow that most likely broke her nose before a second blow to her stomach caused her to double over in pain.

A sudden uppercut sent her sailing into the air before gravity took hold and she slammed back to the ground thoroughly knocked out.

"Winner: Raven." The Master of Games announced as Argent vanished in a flash of white.

* * *

And yet again, in another flash of light, the three winners found themselves back where they started, there to be greeted by the Master of Games yet again.

"Well played, young champions. You have survived round 1." He congratulated them. But the way he congratulated them set Terra on edge. Raven had been on edge since the beginning.

"Survived? Then what happened to those who lost?" Terra asked suspiciously, but the Master of Games was quick to reassure her.

"Peace, heroes. 'Survived' is… merely an expression. Argent, Starfire and Kole have all been returned home safely." While it may have calmed Terra down somewhat, Raven was still skeptical.

"But think not of the vanquished, my champions." He continued. "Now, you must rest. For tomorrow you face… round 2." And yet again, they vanished in a flash of white light. Seriously, does the Master of Games have some kind of 'flash away in a white light' fetish?

But as they disappeared, a cruel smirk spread across his face.

"This is truly a marvelous game. No matter who wins, I gain all the prizes." He gloated to himself as he held his medallion affectionately, while those that had lost round 1 could be heard screaming for help from inside. "And this time, I won't lose."

* * *

"Hey, Terra. You in there?" Raven asked as she knocked on her door. The sound of shuffling feet on the other side was heard before the door swung open, displaying a ragged and barely awake Terra. Though she immediately gained her bearings upon seeing who was knocking on her door.

"Raven?! Are you crazy coming here?! Someone might see you!" she exclaimed in panic, probably would have kept going if Raven had not held up a hand to silence her.

"Oh relax, will you. Both Argent and Starfire are knocked out of the game and that luchador wrestler knows next to nothing about me." She retorted calmly while leaning against the doorframe. Terra seemed to be placated by that as she lost her look of panic.

"Alright, alright. So what do you want?" she asked, at which point Raven gained a certain look of seriousness that she rarely used. A fact that made Terra nervous.

"I want you to be on your guard against that silver monkey. I can't place my finger on it, but there's something fishy about this tournament." She admitted, receiving a raised eyebrow from Terra.

"If you're suspicious about this tournament, then why did you partake in the first place?" she asked skeptically. A tired sigh slipped out of Raven in return.

"Honestly? I did not trust that monkey to keep his end of the deal and return me home safely." She stated. But Terra was not convinced as she crossed her arms and gave Raven a flat look. A tense stand-off broke out for a few moments before Raven relented and raised her hands in a surrendering gesture.

"Okay, fine! I was bored out of my mind and wanted some action! Happy?" she admitted sourly, thereby placing a victorious smirk across Terra's face that made Raven vow she would get back at her during round 2.

"But seriously, Terra, keep your guard up around him at all times." She added. Terra lost her smile and gave a nod in response.

"Good." But now Raven instead gained a teasing grin. "And if it turns out I was right, I promise I'll save you after I've won this tournament." Terra just snorted at that claim.

"Yeah right. More likely you'll screw it all up and I'll have to save your sorry ass." She countered cockily. "After I've won the tournament, of course." She added as an afterthought. An even bigger grin spread across Raven's face in return.

"That so? 'Cause I can still remember quite clearly that one training mission where you attempted to create a boulder for you to fly on, but got distracted by that hunky and delicious boy and instead ended up…" that was as far as Raven got before Terra had closed the gap between them and slammed her hands over Raven's mouth, face red as a tomato.

"You promised you'd never mention that, like never again!" she hissed at her in panic, afraid that someone might have heard. That infuriating grin of hers remained in place when Terra removed her hands.

"I found it kinda cute. He even asked for your number, if I recall correctly." Raven added humorously, to the further embarrassment of Terra that finally prompted Raven to laugh out loud.

"That's what I like about you, Terra. You're so damn fun to tease." She admitted as her laughter subsided. Terra, whose face had become a really dark shade of red, now narrowed her eyes into slits as she glared at Raven.

"Why you little…" she grumbled out as she playfully tried to tackle Raven, only to end up falling on the floor as Raven sidestepped her. That prompted even more laughter out of Raven.

"Well, gotta run now! See ya in round 2!" She called over her shoulder as she ran away from Terra's room.

"Just you wait, Raven! I'll get you for this!" Terra called after her retreating form in mock anger while shaking her fist in the air.

* * *

As the next day arrived, the three remaining champions gathered together in preparation for round 2 of this tournament. But while Pantha seemed all hyped up and ready for battle, both Terra and Raven were a little bit more on edge.

"Welcome, champions!" the Master of Games boomed as he made his appearance. "Since there are only three champions left, we shall proceed with the final round of this tournament." And _yet again_ did the champions disappear in a flash of white light.

* * *

**Pantha vs. Terra vs. Raven**

**In a three women fight, to the finish**

The battlefield that the three of them found themselves in was a massive asteroid floating through space. The three of them were facing each other in a classical Mexican stand-off, each waiting for the others to make the first move. Finally, Terra made the first move by uprooting the ground and sending it flying at both Pantha and Raven.

Pantha merely smashed the rocks to pieces like they were made of cardboard while Raven flipped right over them, drawing her twin Desert Eagles along the way. As soon as her feet made contact with solid ground, he was peppering both Terra and Pantha with bullets. Terra brought up a barrier made of rock to shield herself while Pantha took cover in a crater.

With a quick stomp of her foot, Terra caused a tremor in the ground that left Raven momentarily off-balance. That was all the time Pantha needed to close the distance and unleash a wild barrage of punches at Raven. Sadly, she was much too quick and nimble for Pantha to even lay a finger on her as Raven weaved in and out of every attack thrown at her.

But as they were both occupied with each other, Terra came out from behind her cover and sent a massive boulder hurling at the pair. Raven caught sight of it out of the corner of her eye and back flipped to avoid it. Pantha, however, was not so lucky and got it straight in the face.

She staggered back in disorientation from the blow, but was permanently knocked out of the game when a grenade thrown by Raven went off and sent her flying into the air before coming back down with enough force to crack the rock they were fighting on.

"Oh crap…" Raven muttered as the rock fell apart and sent both competitors into a free-fall, Pantha having already been flashed away. Terra just used a small rock as a platform to fly on, but Raven was not about to give up that easily as she fired her grapple gun on Terra's rock and swung underneath it.

Before Terra even knew what hit her, Raven came with a swinging momentum right at her feet first. She was soundly knocked off her platform and both fell the last distance to another floating asteroid. Raven landed safely on her feet while Terra landed painfully on her back.

Not about to give her opponent a chance to recover, Raven rushed Terra with her kukri drawn. But Terra was not down for the count just yet, as she threw the ground Raven was standing on high into the air, taking Raven with it. She came back down hard on the ground, but was undeterred and attacked again.

A barrage of rocks came at her, forcing her to slow down to avoid the projectiles. While sidestepping a particularly nasty looking rock, she threw a primed grenade right at Terra. She gave a startled "Eeeep!" before she brought up a barrier to protect herself just as the grenade went off.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Raven leaped into action by jumping atop the barrier and flipping right over it to land right behind Terra. She swept out with her leg and knocked Terra right off her balance before striking out with a second kick that Terra rolled clear of. Raven rushed forward again with her kukri held high for a finishing blow.

But Terra was faster as she caused the ground right in front of Raven to strike out, nailing her straight in the guts and knocking every breath of air out of her. Not giving her a chance to recover, Terra caused the ground she was standing on to turn to quicksand, swallowing her up to her knees before solidifying again.

Regaining her senses, Raven just gave her situation one look over before saying a single sentence.

"I'll never hear the end of this."

Then she too was gone in a flash of white light, leaving Terra the winner.

* * *

And in a spectacular flash of yellow lightning, Terra reappeared where it all began. There to greet her was of course the Master of Games.

"Well done, champion of champions! Victory is yours!" he loudly proclaimed to his one-girl audience.

"You mentioned earlier about prizes…" Terra began hesitantly, to which a cruel smile split his face that instantly gave her an uncomfortable feeling.

"I did say there would be prizes, young champion. I did not say they were for you." he stated as he stepped down from his podium to stand right in front of Terra.

"What?" Terra asked in confusion. In return, the Master of Games lifted his medallion up to her eyelevel.

"You may be the winner, but the losers are mine to keep." He explained as Terra could hear screams of help and outrage coming from the amulet. In fact, Terra could almost swear she heard Raven shout "Don't just stand there, you idiot! Kick that monkey's ass!"

To add insult to injury, the Master of Games used all the powers of the defeated champions at the same time. His eyes glowed green like Starfire, his right arm began crackling with Argent's crimson energy, his upper body turned to diamond form like Kole, his muscles expanded to Pantha's size and a Desert Eagle appeared in his left hand.

"And with all their powers at my command, no one will ever defeat the Master of Games. I am. Invincible!" he proclaimed proudly, believing victory was his already. But Terra was not going to let him get away with this. She would not abandon her friend. A devious idea suddenly sprung to mind.

"Really? If you're so invincible, why don't you test it out, in a one-on-one fight with me?" she challenged. The Master of Games gave pause in consideration. The logical part of him said to decline the offer. After all, that pesky brat Robin had challenged him in a similar manner, and he had lost because of that.

However, the competitive side of him was begging for a crack at Terra, to prove he was invincible. Still, he was hesitant to do so. Terra could see this, and pressed on.

"What's the matter? Don't tell me you're afraid to fight a girl." She mocked him. That did it, in one millisecond he had made up his mind.

"Terra vs. the Master of Games! Let the contest begin!" and with that, the battle began between them. And to say it went poorly for Terra was an understatement. At every turn, she was outmatched by her opponent, who grew increasingly arrogant as he threw Terra around like a ragdoll.

In a display of superiority, he used every single power he had acquired from the defeated champions against Terra, and it was when he was using Raven's marksmanship that he made a discovery. Trapped within the sword that Raven carried around, a dark energy was pulsating out of it. And naturally, the Master of Games became intrigued by this.

With but a single thought, he called forth the sword into his left hand, giving it an appraising look before pointing it at Terra. _'Let's see what might be lurking within you.' _he thought as he called forth whatever power that lay dormant within it.

"_**As you wish, but you might not like what you see." **_A dark and sinister voice whispered in his head. Caught by surprise, he gave a surprised blink. But in that short blink, he found himself in a completely different place than before.

Gone was the spacious room he and Terra had been fighting in, now he was standing in what could be described as a vast nothingness. There was nothing else but darkness in every direction.

"**So, you're the mortal insect who dares to use my power. Allow me to welcome you to my humble home away from home inside the blade." **that insidious voice from before said, right before Raven materialized in front of the Master of Games. Only, it was not her. This one had skin colored a hellish red, four crimson eyes aflame with malice and rage, black claws instead of nails, hooved feet and a black cloak that seemed to melt right out of the very darkness surrounding this creature.

"Who are you?" he demanded of her, to which a twisted smile split the creature's face.

"**What's this? The sheep is asking the wolf who it is?" **it asked in amusement, something that caused the Master of Games to bristle at the insult.

"No one insults me and gets away with it!" he stated heatedly as he gathered the power he had harnessed and prepared to attack. Or rather he _tried_ to gather the power, seeing as none of it came at his call. Too stunned to say anything, he just at his hands stared in disbelief. He was brought out of his shocked state by the creature cackling maniacally at him.

"**What's the matter, having trouble calling on your stolen powers?"** it asked in the most fake concerned voice imaginable before the widest and most diabolical grin in existence split her face. **"As you're about to find out, I have no such troubles."**

No sooner had she said this when the Master of Games was literally swallowed up by the darkness around him, his screams of torment echoing through the void long after his passing.

"**That will teach him. No mortal will ever have the right to wield me in battle."**

Meanwhile, back in the physical world, the time between the Master of Games entering the blade and returning was only the span of an eye blink. But when he returned to his physical form, he let out the most pained and anguished scream he could muster as he collapsed to the ground in pain, the sword he had called forth evaporating into black smoke.

Terra meanwhile was staring at the scene in utter bewilderment. _'Okay, what the hell just happened? One second he's all high and mighty, the next he's rolling around on the floor like I've crushed his balls.' _She thought in puzzlement. Nevertheless, she was not about to squander this chance to end the fight once and for all.

She tore off his medallion and threw it to the ground before she brought a massive boulder down on it, crushing the medallion to bits. And with its destruction, all the ones imprisoned within it were set free, tumbling together into one giant pile. The first one to drag herself out of that pile was none other than Raven, who proceeded to march straight up to Terra and smack her on the back of her head.

"OW! What was that for?!" she questioned while rubbing her head. Raven just placed her hands on her hips in a challenging pose.

"For taking so damn long in freeing me." She stated bluntly. A weak groan suddenly drew everyone's attention. It originated from the Master of Games, who was in the midst of crawling back up.

Pain still wracked his mind, and those four eyes still seemed to burn through his very soul. But he would persevere through it, he was the Master after all. Nothing could ever hope to…

That was when he noticed the shattered remnants of his beloved medallion, lying just a few feet from him. His world came crashing down around him at the sight, and he collapsed to his knees in defeat.

"No." he whispered in sorrow. But he got something else to worry about when he felt multiple shadows converging over him. Tearing his eyes off his medallion, he found that the six girls had surrounded him, and none of them looked even remotely pleased. His skin and fur instantly got several shades whiter, if such an occurrence was possible.

"Please, scream as loudly as you can if this hurt. That way, I'll know if I'm doing something right." Raven said nonchalantly as she cracked her knuckles.

"Help." He whimpered in response.

* * *

**ALERT!**

Due to the intense graphical scenes that followed this, the author has chosen to end the chapter here. Please understand that this is for your mental stability's sake. Trust me, no man should ever be forced to watch what transpired.


	18. Chapter 18: Betrayal

**Chapter 18: Betrayal**

You know, with the amount of successful break-ins all across Jump City, you would think high tech labs would be smart enough to install better security. Naturally, they were not that smart, exemplified here by a squad of Sladebots effortlessly breaking into a lab on the outskirts of Jump City.

The guards who were meant to guard the place stood no chance, and the Sladebots effortlessly got what they were after and calmly strolled out of the compound. However, it was as they exited the place that they ran into trouble in the form of a birdarang tearing off half the face on one of the bots before returning to its owner.

"Tell Slade the Titans have a message for him." Robin stated as he and his team made ready for battle. It was Terra who made the first move.

"Eat dirt!" she said as she sent several boulders crashing into the Sladebots' ranks, crushing several of them into scrap piles.

"Titans, go!" and there came the classical battle call before the Titans charged into the fray. Terra gave Robin a lift on one of her rocks, wildly swerving through the barrage of energy blasts coming his way, before he leaped off the rock and came down feet first on a Sladebot. Starfire took her chance to swoop in with a starbolt barrage against the bots.

While this was going on, Argent called forth two crimson fists and lifted a massive boulder into the air.

"Terra, think fast!" she called out before throwing the ammunition to the geomancer, who was more than happy to use it like a sledgehammer to crush a squad of Sladebots.

"Thanks a ton." She said gratefully to Argent.

"Actually, I think it was closer to two tons." She countered before bringing up a shield to protect herself. It did not do much good as it was blasted apart and sent her flying away, quickly joined by Terra who got her rock blasted apart. The moment Terra landed on the ground, she was surrounded by Sladebots.

And in came Beast Boy to the rescue! Morphed as a gorilla, he pulverized the bots with a few swings of his arms, but they would not give up as one of them jumped on his back. That Sladebot ended up being used as a club against his own comrades before being thrown aside like a ragdoll. With the threat gone, he scooped up Terra in his arms bridal style as he morphed back to human form.

"You saved me." Terra said gratefully. Beast Boy's eyes instantly turned to hearts as he gave a goofy grin.

"Yeah, that was cool." He responded (Seriously, that's the best pick-up line he could come up with?). Terra meanwhile was looking a little awkward now, if a bit amused as well.

"Uhhh, Beast Boy? You can put me down now." She said. Beast Boy could not have possibly been able to put her down faster than he did, looking thoroughly embarrassed.

"Right! Uhhh… I was just… uhhh…" his stammering excuse was promptly halted when a Sladebot came flying past the pair like an errant missile, at which point Beast Boy rushed back into the fight. Terra, for some reason, lingered behind. Meanwhile, the fighting dragged on as the Titans destroyed one Sladebot after another.

Finally, the last bot was crushed underneath Cyborg's boot.

"Booyah!" he bursts out in victory. Robin however was still cautious.

"Did we get them all?" he asked as he surveyed the battlefield. No sooner had he said this when a blue cloaked figure stepped out of the building. Her attention was solely fixated upon a data pad she was carrying in her hands, thereby not noticing the carnage she had stepped into.

"Okay, boys! I got that blueprint Slade wanted, now we can pack it all up and…" it was in midsentence that Raven actually looked up from the data pad and noticed the state of her little excursion force, along with the six Titans facing her.

"Well, this became rather awkward." She mumbled mostly to herself. Robin suddenly took a step forward, a rather deep scowl in place on his face, but Raven made the first move by throwing the data pad high into the air. It had the desired result, as every set of eyes were temporarily locked on the object before they realized it was a distraction.

During that short time, Raven had drawn one of her Desert Eagles and aimed straight at Robin. She was about to pull the trigger, but a small rock came sailing in from nowhere and knocked it right out of her hand, courtesy of Terra. Within seconds, the Titans had Raven surrounded with their attacks powered up and ready to use.

"Now, now. No need to get violent here." Raven said as she raised her hands into the air. "I surrender."

At first, the whole team stared dumbfounded at her, obviously not expecting such an easy victory. Robin was the first to snap out of it as he strode right up to her and handcuffed her.

"We're taking you to Titans Tower. I have some questions for you." he growled out before marching away with her.

* * *

But unknown to the Teen Titans, the whole battle had been recorded and was being displayed on several screens. All being coldly observed by none other than Slade.

"Excellent, you've done well. Very well. All your hard work is about to pay off. With our deadliest agent in place for best effect, we strike tonight. And by sunrise tomorrow, the Titans will be annihilated." He spoke, addressing a second person, standing concealed in shadows.

* * *

At Titans Tower, five out of six members were gathered in the living room, enjoying some well-earned pizza and each other's company. They were in the midst of congratulating their newest member on the success of their last mission.

"Thanks, guys. Really, for everything. But you shouldn't… I'm just doing my job, you know. No big deal." She tried to explain, being a bit embarrassed by the attention given to her, but Beast Boy would have none of that.

"Well it's a big deal to us. Good friends don't come along every day, you know." He said while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Besides, you helped us catch Raven. Do you have any idea how long we've been trying to do that?"

While they were conversing, Cyborg approached a panel built into the wall. Pressing his hand against a scanner caused all lights to go out in the Tower.

"Alright, y'all. Titans Tower is locked up and Cyborg's shutting down." he said tiredly as he dragged himself out of the living room, most likely heading towards his room.

"Has anyone seen Robin?" Starfire suddenly asked. Beast Boy in turn gave her a flat look.

"With Raven in our custody and Slade still on the loose, where do you think?" he questioned rhetorically.

* * *

And as you no doubt had already guessed, Robin was currently in the interrogation room along with Raven. She had been stripped of all her weapons, ammunition and gadgets along with her cloak, and her arms were locked tightly to the table in front of her. Yet despite all this, she did not look the least bit worried, she even had the audacity to smile at Robin while squirming teasingly in her chair.

"Ohhh, now this just got interesting. I didn't know you were into the kinky stuff, bird boy." she purred seductively. But Robin remained unfazed as he towered over her.

"Cut the crap, Raven. I wanna know where Slade is hiding." He growled out threateningly. Raven merely leaned forward while pouting at him.

"Why? Would you rather spend time with him than with little old me?" she asked before a wicked gleam entered her eyes. "If you'd just remove these manacles, I'm sure you'd find me to be quite pleasurable company."

As Robin struggled with all his might not to show how flustered Raven was making him, he wished more than anything that he could just gag her and be done with it. Alas, he needed information out of her, and that meant she needed to be able to talk.

"You know where Slade is hiding, where all his bases are. And I want to know where he is." Robin pressed on as he slammed his fists into the table, trying to appear intimidating. Raven just had an air of nonchalance around her concerning this.

"And why should I tell you?" she asked.

"Payback." He offered, receiving an inquisitive look from Raven. "He won't come and save you, he'll leave you to rot in prison. You can get your revenge for that by telling me where he is." He had expected that deal to work. He had not expected for Raven to burst out laughing.

"You're cute, bird boy, but you're not that bright." She said humorously once she had calmed down. "Do you really think I'm that petty? To double-cross my employer just because I got caught?"

Robin said nothing, so Raven pressed on. "Seriously bird boy, I'm a mercenary. Half the struggle in my business is to maintain the trust of my clients, and that trust will go straight down the drain if I were to betray Slade."

By now, Robin had just had enough of this as he came right up in Raven's face with a furious expression engraved on his face. "Just tell me what I want to know!" the sheer amount of frustration behind that one sentence was unimaginable, yet still Raven remained calm. She even leaned closer to his ear.

"If you're so eager, why don't you… '_Persuade'_ me to divulge the information? I'm sure with the right 'incentive', my tongue might loosen up." She whispered huskily. While Robin had done an extraordinary job of keeping his emotions in check so far, he finally cracked here as his face turned beat red from all those dirty images Raven planted in his head. _'Damn girl!'_

Upon seeing his reaction, Raven let a satisfied smirk adorn her face. _'Raven – 1, Robin – 0.' _

Face redder than a tomato, Robin swiftly turned around and began storming out of the interrogation room. Though before he left, he had one last thing to say.

"Make yourself comfortable here, you'll most likely be staying here for a very long time." And with those parting words, he left and locked the door. Had he stayed a little longer, he would have seen how Raven's teasing smirk turned into a vicious grin.

"Not as long as you would think, bird boy." she said knowingly as she leaned back in her set. Everything was set up, all she needed to do was wait for the party to get started.

* * *

While most of the Titans had gone to sleep, Terra was still awake. Seated on her couch with her laptop in front of her, Terra took a deep breath in preparation for what she was about to do. Typing a few things, she sent a message to someone over the internet when a loud knock on her door nearly sent her flying out of her skin.

Hurriedly closing the laptop, she approached her closed door with something akin to dread swelling up within her. But when she opened the door, all she found was a smiling Beast Boy.

"Hi." He greeted while holding something behind his back. Terra gave him a confused look.

"Hi?" she greeted back uncertainly, obviously trying to figure out what he wanted at this late hour. An awkward grin spread across his face as he struggled to say what he wanted to say. The effects that girls could have on boys are sometimes astounding.

A silent moment erupted as Terra waited anxiously for what Beast Boy wanted, and Beast Boy just standing there like a grinning idiot. Eventually growing tired of waiting, Terra glanced down both hallways in confusion before addressing Beast Boy.

"Okay. Well, nice talking to you." she said as she turned around and headed back inside her room. Realizing that the girl he was seeking to impress was leaving, Beast Boy finally came back to his senses and brought out what he had been hiding behind his back. And what was it, you may wonder?

Not sure, but it looked like a pile of paper crudely taped together.

"I kinda… made you something." He said shyly while holding out his offering. Intrigued, Terra peeked out of her room.

"You did?" she asked in surprise as she accepted it.

"Yeah. Went a little crazy with the glue gun." To emphasize that point, a glue gun had somehow been glued to his hand. While he was furiously shaking is hand to get rid of the infernal device, Terra took the chance to unwrap her gift. What she found was a beautiful heart-shaped box, with the inside of the lid being a mirror.

Who knew that Beast Boy had such artistic talents?

"Beast Boy, it's… I don't know what to say." She exclaimed in wonder. Never before had she been given such a wonderful gift.

"You can say yes." He offered, to which a confused look entered her face that caused Beast Boy to elaborate.

"'Cause I'm about to ask you out on a date." A healthy tint of red on his cheeks accompanied his statement, followed swiftly by a look of uncertainty from Terra.

"Oh, wow." Was all she could muster up in such short notice. Beast Boy seemed to interpret it as a "yes" as he went on.

"Sooo… wanna do something tomorrow night?" he asked hopefully. A fearful look suddenly entered Terra's eyes at the offer.

"Tomorrow? I… I'm sorry, Beast Boy. I can't." she regretfully answered, unwillingly crushing his hopes.

"But…" he tried to plead, but Terra was already retreating back into her room.

"I just can't!" and just like that, the door to her room was slammed close, leaving Beast Boy alone in the corridor with crushed hopes and a broken heart.

"Ummm… okay. Maybe some other time?" he called out with the tiniest hopes, no answer came. That left him with nothing else to do but drag himself back to his room in utter defeat.

* * *

"What's taking so damn long?" Raven asked herself from the interrogation room she was still sitting trapped in, fingers drumming against the table she was bolted to. Wasn't the operation supposed to have started already? Had there been some last minute changes in it that she was not aware of?

Either way, Slade had better not hung her to dry, or there would be the devil to pay once she got out. Worst part, she did not even know what time it was, seeing as there was not a freaking clock to keep her company in the room.

Finally, she could just about hear someone moving outside the door. Seconds later, the manacles came off and Raven was free. With a satisfied smirk, Raven rubbed her wrists as she made her way towards the door. The second it was beginning to open, Raven entered her complaining/bitchy mode.

"About damn time you got your skinny ass moving. I've been waiting for ages now. And what were you doing? Grabbing a late night snack along the way? I swear, if you'd waited one more hour, I would have..." it was around that point that Raven actually noticed she was alone. There was no one else present.

"Huh? Where did she go?" Raven asked out loud. Had there been after all some alteration in the plan? Well, she had not received any new instructions on the matter, so she supposed she was meant to carry out her part like planned.

So she swiftly strolled over to another table, where all her equipment lay neatly stacked. A truly feral grin split her face as she began gearing up. "Let's get this party started."

* * *

In his room, Beast Boy was currently beating himself up over his failed attempt at asking Terra out. While raging through all the different ways he could have approached the matter, he kept asking himself what had gone wrong.

"Anything would have been better than giving her a stupid glue covered box and acting like a total goomer!" he raged on against his own reflection before he collapsed to the floor on all four. "Now she'll never go out with me."

His little melodramatic raving was promptly halted when a distinctively female voice cleared her throat. Puzzlement forced Beast Boy to look up, shock and embarrassment combined to make him squeal like a girl upon seeing Terra floating just outside her window.

"Uhmmm… How long have you been standing there?" he asked in embarrassment, silently dreading what the answer might be.

"Wanna go out?" she asked instead of answering his question. Beast Boy looked absolutely ecstatic about the offer.

"Huh? Yeah!" he burst out eagerly before trying to answer more calmly. "I mean, that's cool." He approached his open window with curiosity in his eyes. "But why didn't you just knock on my door?"

A valid question, one that Terra was not all that eager about answering.

"Do you trust me?" she asked instead while holding out a hand for him to grab. Any doubts Beast Boy had instantly vaporized.

"More than anyone I've ever met" he answered before accepting the offered hand.

But as they left Titans Tower to go on their little date, a light was turned on in one of the rooms. Namely, Cyborg's room. Not long after, the half teen machine stumbled out of his room, stomach growling like a pack of hungry wolves.

"Aw man, I knew I shouldn't have given up that last slice of pizza." He grumbled to himself as he stumbled through the pitch black tower until he reached his destination; the refrigerator. Wasting no time, he began digging through it in search of something eatable.

"Oh well, nothing a foot long ham and beef jerky sandwich won't…" But as he reemerged from the refrigerator with the food in hand, he was met with a pair of hauntingly familiar combat boots in his line of sight.

He let his eyes slowly travel up a pair of shapely pale legs, past a slim waist with a gun belt around it, over twin ammunition belts forming an x over a curvaceous upper body covered by a black leotard, and finally coming to a stop on Raven's hooded, and deviously smiling, face.

"Sorry if I startled you, but I was feeling a bit cooped up in your guest room and felt the need to stretch my legs and maybe grab a midnight snack." She explained humorously with both hands on her hip. "And I decided to invite a few friends over for a little slumber party."

That last part was punctuated by a horde of Sladebots suddenly surrounding Cyborg. While Cyborg looked at them with horror on his face, Raven was still smiling broadly at him.

"You don't mind, do you?" she asked sweetly.

* * *

Meanwhile, completely unaware of the events unfolding back at Titans Tower (Well, at least in the case of one of them), Beast Boy and Terra had left Jump City altogether.

"When you asked me out, I didn't realize you meant out of town." He joked.

"Looks cool, doesn't it?" Terra merely inquired in response, to which Beast Boy happily nodded. "Guess sometimes you have to leave a place to really appreciate it." The two of them stood together in comfortable silence for a few moments after that.

"You hungry?" Terra suddenly asked.

"Always." Beast Boy answered. Together, they went on a trip that took them even further from Jump City, to a Petrol station/road diner. While Terra seemed to be completely at home, Beast Boy looked a little shocked by the atmosphere. He seemed to for a moment consider just bolting, but seeing as his date had already made herself comfortable at the desk, he walked in.

Seeing as Terra was already looking over the menu, Beast Boy decided to do the same. Sadly, all the options were meat-based in some manner. Not a vegetarian's best friend. Peering over his menu, he found both Terra and the waitress waiting for his order.

"Uhmmm… don't suppose you guys have a veggie burger?" he asked hopefully. The waitress said nothing, but the flat look she was giving him probably spoke more than mere words ever could. With negotiations grounded to a halt, Terra took matters into her own hands.

"We'll just get the usual, Pam." She said to the waitress while placing their menus away.

"Sooo, I'm guessing you've been here before." Beast Boy said, most likely to get some manner of small talk going. Terra smiled broadly as she answered.

"I've been everywhere before. I was quite the traveler before I became a Titan, remember?"

"Okay, what's the coolest place you've ever been?" Beast Boy asked innocently. That innocent question, however, knocked the smile right off of Terra's face and replaced it with a look of depression.

"Don't know, probably Titans Tower." She answered while staring at her distorted image reflected on a spoon she was holding. Before Beast Boy could even suspect a change, Terra had reverted back to her happy self again.

"But there's plenty of cool stuff out here. Who knows, if you're really nice to me, maybe I'll give you the tour." She offered playfully as their food arrived. A simple pie with some whipped cream on top.

"Dig in." Terra ordered as she offered a spoon to Beast Boy. He was more than happy to comply. Though as he placed his first taste of the pie into his mouth, his whole body went rigid and his face morphed into the expression of someone who has tasted either the greatest or foulest thing in existence.

"This… is the greatest pie… in the history of pie." He muttered with a monotone voice that would have even rivaled canon Raven's, leaving the distinctive feeling that he might not have agreed fully with the words he uttered. Terra at least seemed not to mind, or maybe just not noticed.

"There's a place about two hundred miles outside of Gotham that makes a mean cherry. But for apple, this is the best there…" the rest of her sentence died in her throat as she had turned her eyes towards the mirror on the other side of the desk, where the reflection of Slade himself was glaring ominously at her.

Spinning around in terror, all she found were the three men playing pool and two other guys sitting with their backs turned to her. But even as he had seemingly vanished into thin air, Terra could still somehow feel his lone eye drilling into her back no matter where she turned. With fear and desperation fuelling her actions, Terra hastily put a few coins on the desk.

"Let's get out of here. Night's still young." She said hurriedly as she jumped off her seat and strode towards the exit. Beast Boy, however, seemed not so eager on leaving just yet.

"But… pie!" he whined like a little child. Guess he did like that pie after all. His words went unheard as Terra grabbed hold of his arm and dragged him out of the diner. What neither seemed to notice was that Beast Boy's communicator accidentally fell out of his pocket and was left behind on the floor as they left.

"_Beast Boy, come in!" _Robin's frantic voice suddenly spoke from the communicator.

* * *

The reason for the frantic tone in his voice was that back at Titans Tower, they were getting close to being overrun by a swarm of Sladebots. Currently, Robin was taking cover behind a slab of concrete from a relentless barrage of energy blasts.

"Beast Boy, where are you? Answer me!" he called frantically, but received no response. He had to cut his emergency call short as the Sladebots closed in on his position, forcing him to fall back lest he be overrun. The floor ahead of him had collapsed, and he did not hesitate to leap down to the next level, right in the midst of another squad of Sladebots that he promptly decimated.

But his victory was short-lived as more came flooding down the corridor, firing wildly. Robin leaped into the cover of a blown-up door, where Starfire and Cyborg were holding their ground.

"He's not responding!" he told his two teammates as energy blasts continuously pelted their position. They were quickly joined by Argent, coming down a different corridor.

"And Terra's not in her room." She added. Robin raised a suspicious eyebrow at that. Two Titans have gone missing just before a massive attack on the tower. Whatever the reason, it could just not be a mere coincidence.

"Somebody wanna explain how two hundred armed robots got past my security? And how Raven got out of her room?" Cyborg questioned furiously while he and Starfire returned fire from behind their cover.

"Does anyone even know where Raven went?" Robin asked in worry. If that gun swinging maniac was running loose inside Titans Tower, it could only end in disaster.

"Nah man, I lost track of her after our run-in back at the living room. She could be anywhere by now." Cyborg answered. Robin cursed out loud with the foulest words he could come up. These bots were just small fry, a distraction. Raven was the real priority here.

Cyborg suddenly stepped back from the corner, allowing Starfire and Argent to keep the Sladebots at bay, while he opened up a panel and tried accessing the mainframe. The moment he tried, however, he was violently rejected by huge voltages of electricity.

"Can't even access the computer, we're locked out!" he shouted over the noise of battle. Starfire meanwhile was forced to take cover again as the enemy fire intensified.

"They are too numerous to fight! What shall we do?" she called out in desperation as the horde of Sladebots closed in on their position.

"Fight anyway." Robin answered with conviction, sounding like he truly believed they could fight and win. "Titans, go!" and just like that, he charged out from his cover, taking the bots head-on. His teammates were not far behind in what might be considered a suicide run.

Robin smashed boot first into one Sladebot while a thrown birdarang knocked out a second. A third tried taking him in close quarters, but he was absolutely demolished by Robin. Cyborg charged right through their ranks like an out of control train, smashing aside any bot that got in his way like they were not even there.

Starfire's starbolts obliterated dozens of bots as she fired wildly, some trying to take her in close quarters only to be crushed like they were made of porcelain. Bolts of crimson energy from Argent skewered any and all bots that came near her, while massive fists pounded any that survived into the ground.

Several more Sladebots rushed in to take their fallen comrades' places against Argent, but they probably should have chosen a different route to use other than the one they just came out of. Why? Well… I will just let Argent do the explanation.

"That's my room!" she screeched in outrage before a wave of crimson energy disintegrated the first onrushing bots. But those behind still pushed on, something they would have known not to had they been living beings.

"Nobody goes into my room! Do you hear me? NOBODY!" to punctuate this statement, she unleashed her power on the floor and caused it to collapse, taking both dozens of Sladebots and Cyborg with it. As he regained his senses from the sudden fall, a Sladebot smashed him right in the face with a bench with enough force to send him flying into the wall.

While it tried to attack again with a powerful punch, Cyborg just ducked under it and gave the bot a good pounding. Two more jumped on his back, and were promptly neutralized, but two more piled up on Cyborg, forcing him down. But if they thought Cyborg was down for the count, they were sadly mistaken.

"Don't know how you guys got in, but I know how you're getting out." He growled out before, with a roar of fury, he punched a hole straight through one of the bots and sent the other flying straight through a wall, conveniently into the same hallway Starfire was fighting in.

She attacked the bots with ferocious blows that sent pieces of metal and circuitry flying in all directions before obliterating more with point blank starbolts. But there were too many of them, and the closed in from all sides to pile up on her. Bad call, as she sent them all flying away in pieces with a powerful burst of her energy.

As they were fighting, we find Raven in the midst of planting a bomb inside the tower while tapping her foot in rhythm with a song in her head.

"Fire in the hole. I gotta blow you up inside baby. Fire in the hole. I'm gonna make you my blazing lady. Fire in the hole." She sung to herself while working, having a squad of Sladebots guarding her.

She never got a chance to finish her work before an exploding disc destroyed the control panel and knocked her back into the wall. Standing back up again, she stretched her battered spine while letting out an annoyed groan.

"Seriously, bird boy, you don't need to take things _that_ personally. It was just some friendly teasing." She grumbled out as she turned her eyes towards the perpetrator, who for his part merely brought out his Bo staff and charged. Raven did not even bother to move as the Sladebots charged him.

He knocked out the first two, the leaped up and came down with an axe kick against a third, he landed a spinning kick on a fourth, he smashed his staff straight through a fifth, he took the head right off a sixth with a blow to the head and finished off the last one with an uppercut.

Raven observed the whole scene impassively up until Robin demolished the last bot. at which point she shrug her shoulders and drew her broadsword.

"Well you know what they say. You want something done right, you gotta do it yourself." She noted right before she attacked with a thrust aimed at his stomach. He sidestepped the attack and rolled under a sudden slash before coming back up with a sideways blow with his staff.

Dodging the attack, Raven retaliated with a flurry of sword strikes that forced Robin back, step by step. He tried striking back, but there was a never-ending stream of hacks, slashes, stabs and thrusts coming his way. Raven was relentless in her attack. A sudden spinning slash left an opening for Robin to attack, realizing too late that it was a trap.

As planned, Raven leaped out of his range before a powerful slash cut his staff in half. With his main weapon gone, Robin nearly ended up skewered on Raven's sword as she attacked again. He ducked under another swing while bringing out his own sword and parried the next strike.

A quick duel ensued as they circled each other, trading blows back and forth, before their blades got locked in a contest of strength.

"How did you get loose?" Robin demanded furiously, prompting a taunting smirk to appear on Raven's face.

"Why? Sad you couldn't keep me tied down for just a bit longer?" she asked teasingly as she lashed out with a sudden kick that knocked Robin back and gave her enough room to strike with a flurry of blows. He barely managed to weather the attack until he leaped back to put some distance between them.

"We had places our hardest security measures in that room, there's no way you could have broken out that easily." He countered before he charged again with an overhead strike that Raven blocked. She knocked his blade aside and thrust towards his chest, forcing him back, and followed up with a decapitation strike that he barely blocked in time.

"Let's just say that I've got friends in just the right places." She answered cryptically as she danced clear of a counterstrike from Robin. Robin's features hardened significantly as he contemplated her words. _'She couldn't possibly mean…'_

* * *

While the Titans were fighting for their lives, we find Beast Boy and Terra together in an amusement park, currently closed. Not that it seemed to stop the two super powered teenagers as they enjoyed one ride after another. As it was, they were seated together in the Ferris wheel. A little shy silence reigned between them as they just enjoyed being together.

"Sooo, what made you change your mind?" Beast Boy suddenly asked, gaining a confused look from Terra.

"Excuse me?"

"About going out with me." He clarified before a teasing look entered his eyes. "It was the ears, wasn't it? Ladies looove the pointy ears." A light giggle slipped out of Terra in response.

"Actually, it was because… of all the things I could have done tonight, I realized all I really wanted to do was spend time with you." she admitted with a small smile on her lips.

"Lucky for me you didn't have other plans." Beast Boy joked lightly, not realizing how monumentally wrong he was on that account. Terra could not meet his eyes at that point, as she guiltily turned her eyes away from him.

"Beast Boy. If you knew something bad about me, would you still be my friend?" she tentatively asked, fearing the answer. Beast Boy however seemed completely oblivious to the fact that Terra was on the point of breaking down.

"Of course." He answered without hesitation, not thinking through his answer fully. Terra still looked very depressed.

"I mean if you were really my friend, I could tell you anything. And no matter how horrible it was, you'd still like me, right?" By now, Beast Boy was becoming confused, and a bit worried about these questions Terra was asking him.

"Yes. I promise, Terra, no matter what." He assured her as he suddenly began leaning closer towards her. Already knowing what was coming, Terra leaned forward as well, their lips closing in for a kiss. Sadly, they never got farther than that.

"Hello, Terra." The voice that haunted every Titan's dream spoke up right next to the pair. "Remember me?" as they both spun around in shock, neither could believe what they were seeing. There, sitting calmly in the shadows, was none other than Slade. With confident steps, he moved towards Terra, tossing Beast Boy aside like a ragdoll.

"I have plans for you, Terra. Did you think you and your little boyfriend could just run away?" he questioned as he loomed menacingly above her, Terra just shrinking back in terror.

"Let her go!" Beast Boy snarled out as he charged at Slade from behind. Both of the combatants ended up flying out of the cart and onto the roof of another one, with Beast Boy on top and trying to pin Slade down.

"Terra, run!" he shouted to her without even turning around. He may have been the least intelligent one among the Teen Titans, but even he knew the sheer idiocy of letting Slade out of your sights for even a second.

"Stay where you are, child." Slade calmly countered, looking completely untroubled by the fact that a Titan had him pinned down.

"What do you want with her?" Beast Boy asked in anger. And despite the fact that he was wearing a mask, Beast Boy could almost see the smug grin that spread across his face.

"You mean she didn't tell you? I thought you two were friends." there was no mistaking that tone for anything less than a mocking one. But Beast Boy was never even given a chance to retort as Slade, without the slightest effort, threw Beast Boy off of him and completely off the Ferris wheel as well.

But he was not down for the count just yet, as he swooped down on Slade as a hawk before morphing into a tiger. They circled each other before Beast Boy leaped at Slade, putting all his strength into knocking him over. It ended up being Beast Boy who was knocked over and sent flying off the wheel again.

Calmly approaching the edge of the cart he was standing on, Slade looked down on the cart Terra was still in, and the one Beast Boy had conveniently landed on. He leaped down and knocked Beast Boy off again, but he climbed back on as a gorilla. The two ended up jumping back and forth across the Ferris wheel, until Slade caught Beast Boy in a chokehold.

"You think you know her. You know nothing. She never even liked you." Slade continued to taunt Beast Boy, something that set him off. In a fit of rage, he threw Slade over his shoulder straight into the cart before throwing him away like a baseball. It was at that point that Terra came floating up on a rock, looking quite distraught.

"Beast Boy, come on!" she called out desperately while holding out a hand for him to grab. He momentarily hesitated, and that was all the time Slade needed to recover. But instead of directly attacking them, he just stood atop another cart, silently challenging them to come and get him. Beast Boy was all too eager to take the bait and attacked.

They began wrestling back and forth across the wheel yet again. And Slade soon had the upper hand as he slammed Beast Boy down while rearing his fist back for a powerful blow to the head.

"Terra!" Beast Boy called out, desperately seeking aid against his opponent. In response, she caused the ground beneath the wheel to erupt and topple it over.

"Beast Boy, fly!" she shouted, to which Beast Boy quickly morphed into a small bird and flew away. Slade meanwhile looked at the unfolding scene in alarm, or maybe even a bit of fear.

"Terra, no!" he shouted after her, to which she looked sorrowful at what she was doing. As the Ferris wheel went down in dust and debris, both Terra and Beast Boy fled the scene in all haste. They ran inside the house of mirrors in order to hide, a dark shape following them inside without them even realizing it.

They came to a halt inside a circular room were all sections of the wall had a mirror in them. Beast Boy, realizing they needed help for this, reached inside his belt to retrieve his communicator. It was only now, to his great dismay, that he discovered that he no longer carried it.

"I've lost my communicator!" he burst out in alarm before turning to Terra. "Give me yours!"

But she held up her hands in a resigning gesture. "I don't have it. I left it back at the tower." Needless to say, Beast Boy did not appreciate those news.

"Then we gotta get back to the tower and..."

"Beast Boy, I'm not going back. I can't." she interrupted him dejectedly while lowering her head in defeat. Beast Boy was stunned by her words.

"What? Why can't you?" he asked in concern. But it was not Terra who answered the question, it was someone far worse.

"Because she's not your friend." Slade's chilling voice announced as his reflection appeared on the mirror right behind the miserable looking Terra. "She's my apprentice."

If Beast Boy had been stunned before, it was nothing compared to the sheer amount of disbelief that washed over him. But only now did he notice that Slade's reflection was on every mirror. Not only that, but Terra had also suddenly disappeared.

"Terra? Terra?" he called out frightfully, but no answer came. At least, not from her.

"The girl you knew was merely an illusion. A fantasy. In reality, she's been working for me." Slade revealed with that calm and icy voice that haunted every little child's dreams. His words had the predicted effect. Beast Boy's disbelief turned to denial, denial turned to anger and anger turned to violence.

"That's a lie!" Beast Boy shouted as he furiously punched the first mirror he could reach, and continued to punch every other mirror in a blind rage.

"I found her, I trained her to control her impressive powers. And then I sent her to destroy your little team, from the inside out." Slade continued through Beast Boy's rampancy with the same air of calmness. Finally, it seemed like Beast Boy had run out of steam to continue his senseless destruction.

"No! Terra would never…"

"The final piece of the plan began this very day, when Raven staged that robbery and allowed herself to be captured by you, in order to get inside Titans Tower without raising suspicions." Slade interrupted as he explained his plan. "Terra's orders were to join up with Raven on the assault against you Titans, but I guess she took pity on you. Perhaps she wanted to keep you as a pet."

It was taking all of Beast Boy's willpower to restrain himself here. He continuously denied everything Slade said in his head. He could not accept that any of it could be real. It just was not possible!

"However, despite this minor error in judgment, she was kind enough to release Raven from her cell and deactivate the security at Titans Tower. Your friends are being annihilated as we speak."

That was the last straw for Beast Boy. He would take no more of this madman's filthy lies.

"Liar!" he shouted in rage, ready to tear that bastard apart with his own bare hands. But something stopped him.

"Beast Boy, it's the truth." Those were the heartbreaking words of Terra herself, standing in front of her real master, Slade. Even though the evidence was standing right in front of him, Beast Boy still could not fully accept it.

"Terra, why?" he asked in dismay, feeling like his heart was about to burst any second now.

"Because you could never give her what she needs." Slade stated coldly, arms folded across his chest as he stared down at Beast Boy. Terra could not even gather the courage to look her friend, the one she had just betrayed, in the eye.

In an instant, all his restraints were thrown out the window and he charged Slade as a tiger. Slade just caught him and threw him aside. Beast Boy bared his teeth in a feral growl while crouching low. Slade's answer was to bring out an energy blaster and fired right in Beast Boy's face, knocking him out of his animal form.

He powered up a second blast, ready to end this little nuisance once and for all. But while Terra may have betrayed her friends, she most certainly did not want to see Beast Boy die.

"No! I won't let you hurt my friend!" she stated with conviction as her hands became surrounded by her yellow hue. Slade just gave her a sidelong glance.

"Dear child, you don't have any friends." he countered, right before he felt a sudden shadow grow over him. That shadow turned out to be Beast Boy morphed as a bear. The two began fighting again, with Beast Boy gaining the upper hand.

Crushed by the knowledge that she had done this, Terra fled in blind panic, coming to a stop only when she could no longer hear the noise of battle. Fear, sorrow, anger, remorse. They all blended together in her, crushing her under their immense weight.

Finally, not being able to take anymore, Terra crumbled to the floor in a sobering mess.

"Beast Boy, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen." she mumbled mostly to herself, as if her own words would be enough to forgive her atrocity.

"Then why did you let it?" Beast Boy suddenly questioned as he stepped in front of her. She forced herself back up on her feet as she desperately tried to explain her actions.

"I don't know, okay. I don't know. Slade… he helped me, saved me from myself. He said I owed him, but…"

"So it was all a game?" Beast Boy harshly interrupted her. "You were just pretending?" that accusation stung far worse than any physical blow could ever hope to even come close to.

"No. you said that you'd be my friend, no matter what, remember?" Terra reminded him tearfully. Beast Boy just gave her a look of disgust before turning his back to her.

"Slade was right, you don't have any friends." he snarled out at her in utter contempt. That truly shattered Terra's heart, and she felt like collapsing to the floor again. But she steeled herself and let her grieve be overcome with rage instead.

"Apprentice, come. We've had a change of plans." Slade called to her. And with nowhere else to go, she followed him into the darkness, leaving behind an equally heartbroken Beast Boy.

* * *

Thanks to a massive explosion, Raven was hurled into the Titans' living room. She twirled around in the air and landed gracefully on her feet again, just as Robin came rushing in after her. They both lunged at each other and began trading sword strikes yet again, with Raven slipping past his defenses a few times and leaving shallow cuts all across his body.

"Gotta admit, you put up a hell of a lot more resistance than I anticipated." She commented as she dodged a swing and countered with her own that forced Robin back further.

"We never give up." He stated as he blocked a strike from Raven, only to get a fist to the face as she suddenly stepped closer to him. He reeled back from the blow and Raven knocked his sword aside before driving her pommel into his guts, causing him to double over.

"Well, either way, it ends now." She pointed out as she aimed a thrust at him. He had enough sense to dive clear, but was not fast enough and got impaled right through the shoulder and pushed against the wall. A pained gasp slipped out before he clamped his mouth shut, not planning on giving her the satisfaction of hearing him scream in pain.

But he was not going down that easily as he struck out with his legs and knocked Raven back, making her lose her grip on the broadsword. Steeling himself for the inevitable pain, he yanked the blade out of his shoulder before throwing it aside. Raven had taken the time to get back up again, but the sound of approaching footsteps made her hesitate.

All the bots were probably scrap piles by now, and she had lost the initiative. Not to mention that Terra, the powerhouse of the whole plan, had just disappeared! As much as she hated to admit it, this battle was over. It was time to retreat.

"Okay, bird boy, I gotta go now. It's been fun, though. Let's do this again some other time." She cheerfully commented before she popped a smoke grenade, seconds before the remaining Titans came storming in. taking advantage of the cover, Raven snatched her sword up and threw herself through the window to free-fall towards the ground.

Right before making painful contact with the ground, she spun around and fired her grapple gun, stopping her descent in the nick of time. As she sprinted away, she cast one glance back at the tower before vanishing into the night.

* * *

It was one hour later that Raven dragged her tired and worn down frame inside Slade's hideout. Just as she guessed, he was standing in front of his myriad of screens.

"Report." He commanded without even turning to look at her.

"Mission was a failure. The Titans crushed all your little toys and left me fighting them all by myself. Had to hightail it outta there." She reported tiredly, wishing he could just collapse on her soft and comfortable bed.

"No matter. We'll deal with them some other time." Slade simply said before he completely ignored Raven. She took that as his way of saying "you're dismissed" and shuffled her way towards her room. Along the way, however, she ran into the one person she had been wondering about the whole evening and immediately perked up.

"Terra! I was worried you'd gone lost! But nice work with the security systems! Gimme five!" she enthusiastically greeted her while raising her hand in expectation of a high five. Terra seemed not to even notice her as she just trudged right passed Raven with a broken look on her face.

"… Or just walk right past me as if I'm not even here." She murmured to herself in confusion. Casting a look over her shoulder, Raven felt concern swell up in her as she watched Terra walk on like a condemned criminal about to face execution. Just what had happened?

* * *

_Important note:__ Many have been asking me what Terra's fate in Aftershock pt II would be, if she would live or turn to stone like in canon. I had originally planned to stick to canon in that regard, but with so many asking if she would make it, I started imagining a scenario where she is saved. And now I can't decide which one to go for! Her being saved or her turning to stone!_

_So therefore, I'm leaving it up to you readers. I've put up a poll on my profile, and I want you to vote on whether Terra will live on or not! Her fate, now lies in your hands._

_P.S. Can you guess which song Raven was singing when she was arming the bomb in Titans Tower?_


	19. Chapter 19: Girls Night Out

**Chapter 19: Girls Night Out**

Terra was cautiously moving through the dark halls, eyes and ears peeled for even the slightest sound or movement. But nothing came up, other than the floorboards creaking under her feet with each step taken. Suddenly, a dark shape slammed into her from the side, knocking her through a door and into a bedroom.

Barely had she gotten back up when a burning bottle was thrown inside with her, setting the whole room ablaze. Panic overcame her, and that panic caused her to use her geomancer powers to erect a shield, completely forgetting for a second that she was on the second floor of an abandoned building with the structural integrity of a card house.

As her rock cover smashed through the floor, the whole room ended up collapsing, sending a screaming Terra falling down to the first floor. The second her back made contact with the hard floor, the dark shape from before dived down the hole with a drawn sword. Terra barely rolled clear as the sword impaled the floor she had occupied a second earlier.

Desperation fueling her actions, Terra threw herself back up while ripping huge chunks out of the ground and lobbed them at her attacker. In a display of agility, the attacker weaved past every single projectile before closing in for the kill. Terra ducked underneath a swing, jumped back to avoid a thrust, nearly got beheaded before rock stopped the blade and ended up getting a fist to her guts before a boot catapulted her through a flimsy wall.

The fire was starting to spread all over the building, and Terra was forced to squint as smoke got in her eyes from her position on the floor. She could at least see good enough to detect the gun being aimed at her and rolled clear as three bullets impacted against the floor. Another section of the floor was ripped up and thrown at her attacker, who seemed to disappear into the smoke and fire.

She had no idea if her attack had been successful or not, but had no time to linger as the fire grew worse by the minute. So she made a run for it, hoping to find an exit. But just as she was about to round a corner, a fist came flying around said corner and nailed her right in the face, sending her back to the floor. The attacker from before then stepped around the corner, sword drawn and ready to taste blood.

But Terra was not down for the count just yet as the ground the attacker was standing on got launched into the air and taking its unwilling passenger with it. The attacker was sent crashing through a wall, but quickly rolled back up and threw a grenade at Terra, who brought up a rock shield just as the grenade went off. Barely had the noise from the explosion dimmed when the attacker somersaulted right over Terra's little barricade.

A desperate hand-to-hand battle erupted as Terra tried to defend herself in the face of a multitude of kicks and punches raining down on her. Dodging, blocking, ducking, blocking again, sidestepping, dodging and more, yet still she felt more than once a stinging hit land on her. The fight ended when a fake hit to her right side distracted her and left her open to receive an uppercut to her chin.

For a few precious seconds, Terra had the feeling of floating in the air. Then, that feeling came crashing down along with her body, knocking the wind out of her. She was about to push herself back up, but stopped when a black blade was poised to pierce her heart. letting her eyes slowly wander up the blade, she was met with her attacker, cloak and hood concealing the person's identity.

"You lose," her attacker, a distinctly female voice establishing her gender, said with a strong hint of disappointment in her voice. "Deactivate simulation," she suddenly called out, the environment instantly responding by dissolving into light before turning into a large dome shaped room. With the simulation over, she pulled back her hood to expose her violet hair and ashen grey skin.

"Seriously, Terra, this is getting kinda old. I'm training with you to help improve both our skills, not to rack up victory points with each round," Raven complained as she sheathed her sword and offered a helping hand for Terra. The girl accepted the hand, but kept her eyes firmly locked on the floor. With both hands placed on her hips, Raven sent a stern glare at Terra.

"Seriously, girl, you've been like this for almost a week now. What's bugging you so much that you can barely focus on training?" she asked, both in irritation and concern.

"Yes, I would also like to know that," a third voice announced, gaining both girls' attention. Stepping out of the shadows like a damn wraith, Slade emerged with his cold eye locked firmly on Terra.

"You're falling behind in your training, apprentice," he pointed out with that infernally calm voice that still somehow sounded threatening. His words caused Terra to fidget nervously under his gaze.

"It's nothing, I just need to…"

"I'm not interested in hearing your excuses on the matter. I had high hopes for you when I made you my apprentice, so I expect you not to disappoint me," he reprimanded her harshly, making her feel even more miserable than before along with the added bonus of making Raven narrow her eyes in hostility towards Slade.

"You're dismissed," no further motivation was needed as Terra rushed out of the simulation room, probably heading to her room to sulk in the darkness. Her departure was observed by both Slade and Raven.

"You know, hurting her self-esteem is not the best way to motivate her to work harder," Raven pointed out, receiving a fierce glare from Slade.

"How I train my apprentice is my own business, and does not concern you," he growled out. Slade never liked it when someone questioned his methods. But Raven was not planning on backing down on this one.

"I can help," she offered. While still looking untroubled on the outside, Slade was a bit surprised and intrigued. From what he had gathered on Raven during her time working for him, he had taken her for someone who cared for no one but herself. Yet here she was, offering to help his apprentice.

"What did you have in mind?" he asked in curiosity. But what he received in answer was a mischievous smile from Raven.

"Sorry, girl secret. But what do you have to lose in letting me at least try?" she made a good point there. If her plan worked, problem solved. If it did not work, he would just push Terra harder.

"Very well," he finally gave his consent. But that playful twinkle in Raven's eyes made Slade wonder if this perhaps was a bad idea.

* * *

As expected, Terra had fled to her room the moment she had left the holographic room. Currently she was sitting in a corner of her room in complete darkness, having not bothered to turn on the lights. The reason for her depression? Beast Boy. Even though she knew it was childish to keep brooding about it, the fact was that his words had carved deeper than even he had probably expected.

Every time she thought of the Titans, that hurt and betrayed face of his would pop up, followed by his furious words, and it was tearing her apart on the inside. Anger, shame, hurt, depression. They all swelled up in Terra every time her thoughts strayed to Beast Boy. She loved him, she really did, and he shredded her heart without a second thought. Of course, a small part of her kept reminding her that she did betray them and only had herself to blame.

Her silent moment of self-pity was suddenly interrupted when the door opened up, temporarily blinding her as the light from the hallway clashed with the darkness in her room.

"Practicing your night vision again?" the all too familiar voice of Raven asked sarcastically from the doorway. "You know, I don't think that can be very good for your eyes. Have you tried using old fashioned night vision goggles?" her attempts at humor did not help Terra in the slightest, who just groaned in annoyance.

"Please, Raven. I just want to be left alone," she pleaded with her, hoping she would just give up and go away. No such luck for her.

"Sorry, no can do. Not when my friend is so depressed she can't even hold her own in a fight," she announced with conviction. She could hear how Raven advanced on her, but did not even bother to raise her head. God, she just wanted to be left alone, to wallow in her misery.

"I'm not interested," she muttered. By now, Raven was standing right in front of Terra, and she could just feel the playful smile she had on her lips.

"Funny, I don't recall ever saying that you had a choice in the matter," she commented humorously, right before Terra felt herself getting hauled up on her feet and dragged towards the door. Damn, for having such a petite figure, Raven had some serious muscles if she could drag Terra like she was a five year old.

"While normally I would suggest a change of clothes, I suspect you wouldn't be interested either way and we're on a time table as it is. I have no idea how long they'll keep open, and I don't want to waste a single second," Raven ranted on, confusing the hell out of Terra.

"Stop, stop! Just what are you talking about? What is going on?" Terra protested as she finally got a good look at Raven for the first time. And boy, was she shocked by what she was seeing. Raven had completely ditched her combat attire. Now she was wearing tight blue jeans that hugged her rear and legs real nice, a black spaghetti strap top exposing a teasing amount of cleavage and heeled sandals.

Definitively not the image you would expect when thinking about Raven, the cocky mercenary with a love for guns. Terra's question only caused Raven's already wide grin to grow even larger as she glanced back at her, a wicked gleam in her eyes.

"Three words for you; girls night out!" she announced gleefully as she took off running, dragging a hapless Terra after her.

* * *

'_Damn that girl,'_ that was the dominating thought in Slade's mind as his security cameras showed Raven speeding away on her motorcycle with Terra sitting behind her. When he agreed to let Raven try out her plan, this was not what he had in mind.

"Your plan had better work, Raven," he muttered to himself as he turned away from the monitors and walked away. "And they both had better be home before 11, or there will be hell to pay,"

* * *

After a good twenty minute ride through the streets of Jump City, during which Terra had screamed and begged Raven to slow down, they finally came to a stop outside a club. Terra could not have possibly been able to jump off the motorcycle faster at that point, to Raven's great amusement. Her top was currently covered by a leather jacket she had thrown on before they had departed.

"What's the matter? Don't like driving?" she asked teasingly, to which Terra narrowed her eyes at her.

"I've got no problem with driving, but what you were doing was suicide!" she screeched indignantly. Raven's way of answering was by bursting out laughing while strolling past a fuming Terra.

"Come on now, blondie. I don't feel like standing out here all night." She called over her shoulder. Terra wordlessly followed, though her eyes were brimming with questions. Chief among those was _'What kind of place is this?'_. As they were about to enter the club, a burly man blocked their way, glaring down at them from behind a pair of sunglasses. But Raven just smiled seductively at him, and Terra wisely let her do all the talking.

"Long time no see, handsome. We're not too late, are we?" Raven asked playfully. The stone hard façade of the guard held out for about five more seconds before it disintegrated into a small smile. Without a word spoken, he stepped aside and opened the door for them. Raven blew him a kiss before she dragged Terra inside.

They were met with the rhythmic beat of music vibrating through the building as they entered, Raven hanging up her jacket on a hook along the way. The two carefully navigated their way through the dancing crowd until they reached the bar, Raven smiling widely while Terra looked a bit unsure.

"What exactly are we doing here, Raven?" Terra asked, having to lean closer to Raven in order to be heard without shouting. Raven slung her arm over her shoulder in response.

"What do you think? We're here to have fun!" she exclaimed as she took a set at the bar. "I'll have a beer," she called out to the barman, who eyed her dubiously.

"I.D," he demanded of her, not wanting to accidentally give alcohol to a minor. Raven quickly brought out an I.D. card and handed it to the barman. It was obvious to Terra that it was a fake, for the simple reasons that it named her "Rachel Roth" and listed her as eighteen years of age. At least the barman seemed to buy it, as with a nonchalant shrug he handed it back to her and turned to Terra, obviously waiting for her order.

"A soda, please?" with just a nod of his head, he quickly brought out the ordered drinks to the two girls before leaving to attend some other guest. But while Raven was more than happy to gulp down her drink, Terra still looked a bit down. That was unacceptable in Raven's eyes.

"Oh come on now, girl. Loosen up a bit and try to enjoy yourself," she said while nudging Terra. Though still a bit dubious, she seemed to take Raven's words under consideration as she took a gulp from her soda. _Eh, what the heck? Might as well give it a try,' _she thought as a small smile spread across her face.

* * *

About half an hour later, Raven had managed to drag Terra out on the dance floor, and the two of them were wildly moving around with the rest of the crowd. Well, at least Terra assumed that Raven was doing the same, since the girl just vanished into the crowd after a while, leaving Terra alone. But for the moment, she was having too much fun to care that much.

"Hey, Terra!" speak of the devil, it seemed like Raven was back from wherever she went. But as Terra turned to face her wild friend, she found her dragging two boys along. And as Terra found at closer inspection, they were both delicious eye candy.

"I found some dance partners for us here," she announced as she let go off the boys and strolled over to Terra, who for her part was blushing a bit in embarrassment.

"That's not necessary, I like to dance alone," Terra tried to object, but Raven was not taking no for an answer as she gently forced Terra to look back at the grinning pair of hotties patiently waiting for them.

"Come on now, girl. Don't tell me you're going to say no to such a treat," Raven pressed on with a seductive smirk. Inwardly, Terra groaned at Raven's persistence. God, she could be stubborn as hell sometimes!

"No, seriously, it's not necessary," Terra futilely tried, but was thoroughly ignored by Raven who gave an irritated huff.

"Fine, have it your way," she said before she literally shoved Terra into the arms of the blonde guy. Face red as a tomato from her action, Terra was never even given a chance to complain to Raven as she dragged the black haired guy away, laughing wickedly at Terra's embarrassment.

"Raven, I'm so going to kill you for this," she muttered quietly to herself before her eyes found themselves drawn to the smiling face of the hot guy whose arms she had been pushed into.

"Pushy friend?" he asked knowingly. Had her face not already been as red as it could possibly get, Terra would have blushed now.

"Something like that," she admitted, mentally making up intricate plans on how best to torture Raven before killing her in the most painful way possible.

"If you'd prefer, I could leave you be. I just thought it was a shame to see such a beautiful girl dancing by herself," he commented with the kind of smile that sent girls swooning. But Terra was made of sterner stuff than that, so all she did was give a hesitant smile.

"No, that's not necessary. I'd love a little company," she said. They both said nothing more, just started dancing together to the rhythm of the music. _'This is not so bad after all. I might just forgive that infuriating bird later,' _Terra thought amusedly.

* * *

An hour later, and both Raven and Terra had withdrawn from the dance floor, their partners having gone home for the evening. Terra's had even asked for her phone number before departing, while Raven's was blushing up a storm as Raven had a smutty grin on her face.

Terra did not even want to know.

Currently, they had taken up residence at one of the tables set up along the walls, each with a drink in their hands and laughing at funny and embarrassing stories they entertained each other with.

"Oh, you should have been there, Terra. The look on bird boy's face when he saw me at the prom was absolutely priceless," Raven managed to force out between gales of laughter.

"I can imagine, if those videos you released are anything to go by," Terra said while trying to control her giggles.

"But it was a shame that I could not hang around long enough to see his face when he found the note I left behind. By God, what I would have given to know what went through his head then," Raven mourned mockingly, causing Terra to snort in laughter. But their little moment was ruined when a trio of burly men stepped up to their table. And they all reeked of alcohol and had an air of arrogance to them.

"Hey, girls. Care for some charming company?" the biggest, and by default their leader given their lack of intelligence, asked with what was supposed to be a charming smile. It made him look more like a disfigured ogre. Terra was instantly on high alert, her jerk/bully alarm going off in her head.

"I'd love to, actually. So if you happen to see any such company around her, could you please give them directions to our table?" Raven shot back with an air of nonchalance as she leaned back in her seat, looking completely untroubled by the three hairless gorillas looming above her.

"Now don't be so rude, we can be quite charming, once you get to know us," the leader countered as he uninvitingly took a seat. "And I'd love to get to know you two quite intimately," the oh so subtle hint (note the sarcasm) did not pass by the girls unnoticed. But while Terra looked ready to strangle the man, Raven still had an air of superiority to her.

"Sorry, boys. I don't think you have what it takes to keep up with me," she replied rather bluntly. That at least seemed to put a dent in the jerk's ego as he frowned at Raven.

"Oh? And how would you know?" he asked, to which Raven smiled her taunting smile that let Terra know that someone was going to walk away either with a battered pride or a battered body. Most likely both when she thought about it.

"I learned long ago that boys like you only get those beefy muscles to compensate for another small part," that did it, Terra could not stop from snorting in laughter before she clamped a hand over her mouth. And as expected, the idiot did not take the insult well as he now glared murderously at Raven.

"I think someone needs to teach you some manners, little girl," he growled at her. Yet still Raven looked untroubled as she slowly rose from her seat.

"Obviously you are either the densest idiot I've ever had the misfortune of crossing, or you're brand new around here, 'cause I've never met a mere bully like you who thought that they could beat me," she commented with a predatory gleam in her eyes that caused the guy to take a few involuntary steps back.

It was pretty obvious at that point that a brawl was imminent, as Raven cracked her knuckles while wearing a vicious grin on her lips. But as she stepped towards her first target, the knucklehead who tried to hit on her, a restraining hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Don't even think about doing it, Raven," Terra ordered sternly. It caught Raven by surprise as she spun around to stare at Terra in disbelief. But that stern expression Terra had been wearing quickly melted away to be replaced by a wicked smile.

"'Cause I call dibs on the first blow," that statement was punctuated by a powerful kick in between the jerk's legs, dealing a fatal blow to his crown jewels. He instantly went down with a high pitched shriek of pain. Raven herself only smirked in satisfaction before she threw herself into the fray as well.

_(A small tip here. I played the song "Banana Splits" by the Dickies here. I found that it fitted quite nice.)_

What followed was probably something that could not be fully explained, as within seconds after the first blow had been struck, someone had shouted "FREE FOR ALL!" and suddenly everyone was fighting everyone all across the club.

Raven herself delivered an uppercut to one guy before spinning around with a kick to the back of another one. She leaped over a third and swept his legs from under him while ramming her elbow into the stomach of another. Someone tried to charge right at her, but she picked up a beer bottle from a table and smashed it straight into is face.

"What a waste," she commented sadly as she threw away the destroyed bottle. A spinning kick sent another guy flying, a punch knocked a screeching girl flat on her back and an elbow sent another guy off to la la land. Three guys suddenly charged her at the same time, and Raven leaped right over a table before kicking said table straight into them.

Their disorientation allowed Raven to charge in and knock them out with a flurry of jabs. She followed up with a roundhouse kick straight in the face of someone who just got in her way before ducking under a drunken swing from a second attacker and slammed both fists into his stomach. He ended up vomiting up whatever he had been eating and drinking before a blow to the head knocked him out.

"Now this is what I call fun!" Raven shouted gleefully as she jumped up on a table and used the elevation to send a spinning kick that knocked three guys out, one with a broken nose. A somersault later and Raven was in a position to deliver a fist to a male's anatomy and a kick to the knee of a second. Another was knocked out with a double blow to the head.

Terra meanwhile was dealing out her fair share of beatings as she stomped on a guy's foot before kneeing him between the legs. Someone tried to hit her with a chair, but she ducked under it and smashed her fist into his gut and finished it up with a blow to the back of his neck as he doubled over in pain.

Another grabbed her from behind while a guy with a baseball bat (where did he get that one from, anyway?) charged from the front. But she smashed her head back into the face of the one holding her, crushing his nose and causing him to let go. She then ducked under the baseball swing meant for her, causing it to hit the other guy.

The one with the baseball was never given a chance to recover as a kick slammed into his knee and he fell screaming to the floor. A roundhouse kick later from Terra and he was out like a candle.

Yet another guy came up behind her, this one armed with a knife. But he never got far before Raven swept his feet from under him and rammed her heel into his stomach (bear in mind, those are high heels).

"I think it's about time we got going now," Raven commented jovially as she nonchalantly smashed her elbow into the face of the nearest drunkard.

"If you say so," Terra said while grabbing a guy's fist and slammed it back in his face. A chuckle from Raven followed her words.

"Do I detect a hint of disappointment in your voice?" she asked teasingly, ducking under a wild swing midsentence and knocked the attacker out with an uppercut. A mischievous smile spread across Terra's face.

"Maybe," she offered cryptically, drawing out more laughter from her violet haired friend. She was about to make a comment of her own, when the sound of sirens reached their ears.

"Shit! Cops are here. Now it's definitively time to hightail it outta here." Raven said as she grabbed hold of Terra and dragged her towards the backdoor. Around them, the fighting mob had devolved into complete pandemonium as police officers barged in with weapons drawn.

In the chaos that followed, no one noticed the absence of two young girls.

* * *

An hour later, after one heck of a run across the city, we find both Terra and Raven perched atop a skyscraper overlooking Titans Tower.

"Soooo… did you have fun or did I just waste countless hours on a lost cause?" Raven asked with a teasing grin, one that Terra could not help but mimic.

"As much as I hate giving you an ego boost, I must admit that it was fun," she admitted, causing Raven to pump her fist in the air.

"And Raven scores yet again with her awesomeness!" she proclaimed as loudly as possibly, receiving a playful shove from Terra.

"Shut up, you airhead," she said. That only drew out more laughter from Raven.

"That's the best you can come up with?" she teased. Terra snorted and turned away like a child with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Oh, mature, girl, real mature," Raven said while poking her back. Terra still refused to look at her. A mistake on her part, for she would have received a fair warning of what was coming if she had seen the impish grin spreading across Raven's face.

Fast as lightning, her hands darted forward and squeezed Terra's sides, causing her to let out a surprised yelp while instinctively scooting away from the attacking appendages. She whirled around in shock to glare at the still impishly grinning Raven.

"I thought I'd told you not to do that. You know how ticklish I am," she protested, but Raven looked completely guilt free.

"But why should I listen? It's such a fun weakness to exploit," she defended innocently. While wishing she could continue to act angry towards Raven, Terra could not keep it up any longer and let out a light chuckle while shaking her head.

"You're hopeless, Rae," she muttered. A frown appeared on Raven's face upon hearing her old nickname from her time at H.I.V.E. Academy.

"Where did you pick up that awful nickname?" Raven asked suspiciously. A confused look was the answer she received.

"Nowhere. I just came up with it right now," now it was Terra's turn to grin impishly at Raven. "Not something you like to be called?" in the face of this new fiend that dared use that horrid nickname, Raven let out a groan while burying her face in her hands.

"When the hell did you get such a cruel streak in you?" she asked in fake despair. Terra just giggled at her.

"Well, I've learned from the best," she admitted teasingly while nudging Raven, who for her part shook her head in resignation while sporting an amused smile of her own. But their little moment of joy was promptly ruined when Terra's eyes found themselves drawn to Titans Tower, standing like a solitary guardian out in the bay.

The memories of what had transpired between her and the Titans came rushing back with a vengeance, and her good mood was shredded by depression yet again. Naturally, Raven noticed the sudden change in her friend.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked in concern. Terra's first instinct was the say the usual "I'm fine" that everyone used when they did not want to bother others with their troubles. She shot down that idea within moments. Raven would easily see through her lie and would not stop pester her until she told the truth.

Just one of the many qualities that made Raven a highly annoying, but dependable friend.

"Not really. Haven't been okay since I left the Titans," more like betrayed them. "I just can't shake the guilt off, no matter what I do," silence stretched out between them after her little admission. Finally, Raven reached into a bag she had brought along and took out two cans of beer, offering one to Terra.

While first planning to decline the drink, given she was still a minor, she then had second thoughts about it. An alcoholic beverage might be just the thing she needed right now. Plus, drinking alcohol while still not being of age was obviously the least she had to worry about. Wordlessly, she accepted the beer and popped it open.

"There's more than just guilt eating away at you, isn't there?" Raven suddenly inquired before she could even take a gulp. A slight flinch from Terra was all the confirmation Raven needed on the subject.

"Nothing gets past you," Terra noted dryly. So she told her of what had transpired while Raven had been fighting the Titans, of how Terra had tried to save Beast Boy by luring him away from the tower, only to run straight into Slade. Her voice nearly cracked as she described what happened inside the house of mirrors.

"And in the end, he said to me that Slade was right, that I didn't have any friends. Even after he promised that he would always be my friend," the hurt in her voice was impossible to miss, and Raven felt her anger building up and being aimed straight at Beast Boy like a bullet.

"Terra, do you remember that promise I made to you before you infiltrated the Titans?" she asked.

"Remember. They hurt you, and I swear to God I'll hurt them so badly that their great grandchildren will feel it," Terra quoted from memory. Raven nodded her head slowly as she glared at Titans Tower.

"And I intend to keep that promise. That little shrimp has hurt your feelings, and I plan to hurt him so badly that he'll be crawling back to you begging for forgiveness," there was steel in her voice that told Terra that Raven was dead serious here. But without warning, Raven slung her arm over Terra's shoulder.

"And for the record, Terra, he was completely wrong," a confused look from Terra had Raven elaborating. "The Titans may have turned their backs on you, but you're still my friend," a moment of stunned silence followed her words, before Terra's face split into a grin.

"So you better get used to it, blondie. 'Cause you're stuck with me no matter what," Raven teased with a grin in place.

"Oh, the horror," Terra said in mock fear. They ended up bursting out laughing together after that. Seemingly just remembering the can of beer still clutched in her hand, she raised it at Raven in a toast.

"To friendship," she announced upon catching sight of Raven's confused look. A small chuckle slipped out of Raven's throat as she too raised her beer.

"To friendship," she repeated before they both took a large gulp of beer. Terra immediately made a face upon tasting the drink.

"It tastes bitter," she declared, eliciting even more laughter from Raven.

"It's more of a taste you have to get used to," she revealed. Terra looked at Raven, then back at the beer, then back at Raven and then back at the beer before giving a nonchalant shrug and took another swig. Raven just shook her head as she continued drinking as well.


End file.
